


Across The Stars

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Romance, Secrets, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 20:23:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15826269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: “(Y/N), (Y/N)...” He whispered your name like a mantra, like it was the sound of freedom and safety. You tightened your hold, knowing now that what you felt was more than love...You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.





	1. Hope

You sit on the edge of the toilet seat in the ‘fresher, your nails tapping the back, or rather the front, of the flat, egg-shaped sliver of plastic in your hands, and look up at the holo-clock on the wall. Just another ten seconds before you can turn it over and find out what it says. A tiny part of you hopes that it’s something else, not this, given that you’re right in the middle of a war and at this crucial time, certainly, you can’t be expected to give up all your hard work when the Alliance needs every person it’s got left now more than ever.

 

On the other hand, you reflect, people are doing this even in the midst of war and surviving, somehow. But it’s too soon...

 

The holo-clock flips over another minute and you take a shaky deep breath before turning over the test in your hands. You blink at what it reads.

 

“Pregnant, One Month Along.”

 

You squeeze your eyes closed, a mixture of delight and anxiety seeping into your mind. You and Luke had talked about this, had discussed how one day you’d both like to start a family, but hopefully after this war was over and certainly not this soon. The only logical reason you could come up with was that the protection you’d been using had failed, which was reported to happen once in ten times, but you’d both been so confident it wouldn’t that you’d been, well, intimate with one another more and more lately.

 

And now here you are, standing in the ‘fresher holding a positive pregnancy test and worrying about Luke’s reaction. After everything he’s gone through lately you’re not entirely sure how he’ll respond to the news of suddenly becoming a father.

 

Quashing down your worries, you calmly tuck the test away in your pocket, since it’s not worth the risk of throwing it in the bin where anyone could find it, and make your way back to the main conference room where everyone else is gathered. Everyone but Luke, that is. You sit next to Leia, Han and Chewbacca and try to listen to what’s being discussed but your mind is only on one thing.

 

Luke.

 

_You’d been nineteen when it happened, when the Alliance received the report of Alderann having been destroyed shortly after the news that Leia’s ship had been boarded by Darth Vader and his Imperial Troopers, with many of the crew killed and the Death Star plans safely smuggled elsewhere. Of course you’d been upset, even though it wasn’t your home planet, but the knowledge that the Empire now had a weapon that could reduce whole planets to dust made you throw yourself deeper into your work in an effort to bring them down. Having joined the Alliance at the age of sixteen, people were still amazed with your expertise in tactical planning, but your strategy to bring down the Death Star using exploding torpedoes was met with raucous praise. Once Leia returned, with the Death Star plans, you were able to plot out the Rebel cause of action with much more accuracy, and in the end, your theory was proved to be right._

_Of course there were casualties, so many good pilots laying down their lives to try and defeat the Empire, and you stood at Leia’s side in the control room with your heart sinking each time a ship was lost. Then, by some miracle, Red Five, aka the new pilot Luke Skywalker, was able to blow up the Death Star at the last second, aided by Han Solo in his Millennium Falcon, and now was a cause for celebration throughout the galaxy._

_For all except you, that is._

_You knew deep down that this was just the beginning, because the Empire wasn’t going to give up just because you’d destroyed their terrible weapon, in fact if anything you’d just made them angry and even more determined to wipe out the Rebel Alliance. So you only put your holo-pad to one side during the award ceremony when Leia came up to you a few minutes before the heroes were due to walk into the room where everyone else was gathered. She shook her head._

_“(Y/N), you’re meant to be celebrating, not working,” she scolded you._

_“We’re still at war in case you hadn’t noticed,” you responded, before tucking your holo-pad back into your bag and spreading your hands to show her it was gone. “But, out of politeness, I will put work down until this is over.”_

_“No, you’ll put work down until tomorrow, you’re still coming to the celebration later.”_

_“Leia-”_

_“That’s final.”_

_You shake your head. “Why’d you have to be so bossy?”_

_“I worry about you.” Leia fixed you with a kind look. “It’s not good for you working as hard as you do, you’re going to push yourself too far one day.”_

_You were about to respond but then a Rebel officer came up to inform Leia that all was ready and she took her position on the platform. You quickly stood to attention along with your fellow Rebels, grateful for being close to the front of your group, since you’d get a good view of the people who saved the galaxy from the Death Star. As the walked in, two men and a Wookie, you were startled to see that the one they called Luke Skywalker looked to be about your age. How could someone little more than a teenager be **that** good in an X-Wing? The other one, Han, was quite handsome, you reflected, if you liked that sort of thing, but you’d never really been into older men. As for Chewbacca, the Wookie, he kept roaring a lot and you wished you could speak Wookie just to know whether he was making noises of irritation or appreciation. _

_As Leia placed the medals around their necks and the heroes turned to face you, you joined in the applause, filled with a deep appreciation and gratitude for them having carried out your plan to perfection. No sooner had everyone started making their way towards the bar to celebrate, however, then out came your holo-pad and back to work you went. Of course, you ordered a drink too, but once you were certain that Leia was nowhere in sight, you quickly slipped through the crowds to find a quiet hiding spot, completely unaware of the fact that a certain young Jedi had noticed you._

_Luke was entranced by you the second he saw you in the crowd during the ceremony. He swore that the second you smiled his heart stood still. Leia was beautiful but you were something else entirely, and he instantly wondered who you were. He was about to approach you at the bar when you suddenly slipped away out of sight. Damn! Well, perhaps the man serving drinks could help him out._

_“What can I get for the hero of the hour?” the man asked, grinning._

_Luke smiled back. “I’m good thanks, but who was that girl you were just serving, the one with the holo-pad?”_

_“You mean (Y/N)?” The barman shoved a bottle over towards Luke anyway. “She’s the best strategical analyst this side of the galaxy. It was her plan you were following to blow up the Death Star, she was the one who worked out that the torpedoes would have the best effect.”_

_“That was her?” Luke peered in the direction you just went and thought he just caught a glimpse of you sneaking out of the room. “She can’t be any older than I am, though.”_

_The barman shrugged. “From what I hear, it runs in her family. She was sixteen when she joined up, orphaned, poor thing, and she’s forever working, even though the Princess keeps telling her to take a day off occasionally. Personally I think she’s using work to mask the pain of her loss.”_

_Luke took the bottle and followed in the direction you went. You’d ducked down between two rows of supply boxes lining the walls so that Leia wouldn’t see you if she looked out, sipping your drink as quietly as you can manage, however you had to clear your throat at one point and that was how Luke found you._

_“What are you doing out here?”_

_You jumped and looked up, startled to see the young Jedi looking down at you curiously. Breathing a sigh of relief, you shook your head. “Do not tell Leia I’m working. She’ll skin me alive.”_

_Luke crouched down and you shuffled up to make room for him to sit beside you. “Why?”_

_“Because I’m meant to be relaxing and joining in the celebration,” you explain. “She thinks I’ll work myself into an early grave, but I just want this war to be over.” You lay your holo-pad on your knees and pick up your drink again. “I mean, yes, we destroyed the Death Star and that’s a huge step but it’s not over yet.”_

_“That doesn’t mean you can’t take time off tonight and start again tomorrow,” Luke points out._

_You smile, focusing on your drink rather than him. “I guess, it’s just...I’ve lost too many good people in this war, friends and family...” You trail off and take a deep breath, shuddering at the memory. “I...just don’t want to lose anyone else...”_

_“I’m sorry,” Luke murmurs, sincerely. “I know how that feels.” You look up at him in surprise. “Right before I came here my aunt and uncle were killed because the Empire found out we had the droids that had the Death Star plans. I wasn’t there...although if I had been I don’t know what I could have done.”_

_You nod. “I know. I was raised by my cousins. One of them joined up here before he was old enough and he was killed on his first day. The others were killed protecting me from being recruited by the Empire. That was why I came here, I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”_

_“So what are you going to do after all this?” Luke asked._

_“I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead,” you admitted._

_There was a comfortable lapse in conversation and then Luke ventured “Your plan was a genius one, you know. You should be proud of yourself.”_

_You smiled and toasted the bottom of your glass against the bottom of his bottle. “Well, it really only worked with a great pilot to execute it, so you should be proud of yourself too.”_

_As Luke and you talked into the night, however, you forgot about working, so in the end you unconsciously did as Leia asked and took a night off to celebrate instead. It wasn’t long, however, before the Empire started back up again, as you had predicted, and the pair of you were thrown back into your hectic work schedules. Luke joined Leia and Han on several secret undercover missions to Imperial bases and weapons manufacturers and you soon found yourself not only planning their strategies but also contacting them with valuable information once the Rebels managed to hack into the Imperial computers, aided by R2D2. In your free time, you found yourself bumping into Luke after missions, sometimes even before them, and that was when things began to get a bit awkward as you suddenly started to become shy around him and he seemed to be getting a little less confidant in himself around you. One time you were just finishing up when he came into the almost empty control room and you only noticed he was there when you looked up and caught him staring at you, which then he quickly tried, and failed, to hide with an awkward smile._

_“Hi. (Y/N).”_

_“Hi, Luke,” you replied, a little surprised. “What are you doing here?”_

_“Drink?”_

_“Sorry?”_

_Luke looked like he wanted to kick himself. “I mean, do you want to have a drink with me, when you’re finished, maybe?”_

_“Oh.” You nodded, shyly. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’m nearly done now anyway if you don’t mind waiting.”_

_“No, I don’t mind.” Luke slid into a seat and you could feel him watching you as you worked, not wanting to disturb you. Afterwards, though, when you drank together, the tension seemed to fade away. Soon it became a regular thing to meet him for a drink in the bar after work and little by little the pair of you began to open up to one another more. Luke told you about his family, how he wanted to become a Jedi like his father, how he had met Obi-Wan and started training under him and how it had been Obi-Wan who had told him to use the Force to destroy the Death Star. You told him about your family and how strategical analysis was something you found fascinating, it hadn’t just been hammered into you because it ran in your family or anything. Before too long you realised that it was only when you were around other people that you became tense and awkward around each other, alone together you were fine, and then one day it hit you._

_You were falling for Luke Skywalker._

_In spite of your careful planning, there were still casualties and losses. One time almost all the ships sent to battle with a group of TIE fighters were wiped out except for three, and you spent hours later agonising over what could have possibly gone wrong. Nothing had been gained by that battle either, except for getting the Empire off your backs for a moment, but that was a minor compensation. You wanted to scream, you wanted to fling your holo-pad against the wall and curse the Imperial Fighters for not giving up and backing off._

_There was a knock on the open doorway of your room and a voice ventured “Are you alright?”_

_“No, I am **not** alright!” you snapped, spinning around and then instantly regretting it when Luke visibly flinched like you’d just hit him. You caught yourself and shook your head. “I’m sorry, Luke, I didn’t mean to yell at you, it’s just...” Your emotions finally get the best of you and you feel tears prickling your eyes. “I don’t know how it all went wrong.”_

_Luke stepped into the room and hugged you, taking you completely aback, but then you returned it, needing someone, anyone, to hug you right now. “(Y/N), it wasn’t your fault, it was a good plan, one of your best. It’s just the Imperial analysts are clever too, that was probably why they wanted you to join them, they probably thought they’d win this war faster.”_

_“Say more nice things like that,” you mumbled, causing him to laugh. Smiling and feeling a bit more positive, you looked up at him. “Thank you, Luke, I needed that.”_

_Of course people noticed how close you and Luke had become, especially when he was made Commander of the Rogue Squadron and you hugged him in front of the entire Alliance. Actually you had to hold yourself back from kissing him because you were so proud of him at that point. You kind of wanted it to be just you and him celebrating that night but of course Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids had to be there too, and it was a fun night in the end. Even so, you did begin to wonder whether there was more to your evening bar rendezvous with Luke than just friendship._

_Before either of you could really question it, though, the Imperials found your base and the entire Alliance had to evacuate to the icy planet Hoth, which made you nervous, as the place was said to be teeming with Wampas. The others simply scoffed at your concerns, however, even when you brought in C3PO to tell them the odds of being attacked by Wampas when out alone in the snow, well, all except Luke, however, and somewhat reluctantly any scouts agreed, under his influence, to arm themselves before going out just in case._

_“You’re not doing that just to impress a certain strategical analyst, are you?” Han teased him._

_“No, why would I do that?” Luke tried to brush off, although it was obvious from his flush that Han was right on the mark._

_And then the day came that really shook you up._

_Luke and Han were set to patrol the surrounding area, to keep an eye out for any sign of Imperial ships. This had become a regular thing and a pretty efficient way of preparing the Alliance for an oncoming attack. On their way to saddle up their Tauntauns, they passed by the area where you were hard at work, as usual, and Luke, as usual, paused to watch you. You glanced up and greeted him with that soft smile he’d become very fond of. “Hi. Are you off on patrol now?”_

_“Yes, and don’t worry,” Luke grinned, “I’ll keep an eye out for Wampas.”_

_You put your head on one side. “Are you teasing me, Skywalker?”_

_“No, why would I do that?” His teasing expression became serious. “Are we still meeting up later?”_

_“Of course,” you answered, frowning, “why wouldn’t we be?”_

_“I don’t know, you might have had a better offer in my absence.”_

_“Better than the man who blew up the Death Star?”_

_Luke grinned again. “Fair enough.”_

_You shook your head. “I’ll see you later, alright?”_

_“Right.” Luke lingered a bit longer before reluctantly making his way over to his Tauntaun. You smiled to yourself. Ever since that first night you met, going for a drink with Luke had always given you something to look forward to._

_After a couple of hours, one of your superiors reported that a storm was picking up outside, and you glanced worriedly over at the doors, expecting Luke to come riding through them any second. After a few minutes, they opened and you sighed in relief, seeing a rider clad in a fur parka and goggles enter the base._

_“(Y/N), get back to your work, please,” General Rieekan stated, and you quickly whipped your head back to the battle computer in front of you. Leia glanced your way and she must have noticed you stealing glances in the direction of the rider because she came over to you and murmured “What, are you expecting someone?” in a teasing voice._

_“Just Darth Vader,” you teased back, lightly, before noticing the look on her face. “What?”_

_“You’re waiting for Luke, aren’t you?” Leia asked, knowingly._

_You frowned. “He just came in, didn’t he?” Glancing back, however, you realise it was Han who came in, not Luke, and automatically you got up and hurried over to him, ignoring Rieekan’s command of “(Y/N)!”_

_“Hey, where’s Luke?” you asked._

_Han grinned. “Relax, kid, he’s just checking out a meteorite that fell near him. I’m sure he’ll be back any second now.”_

_“(Y/N), get back to your post.” General Rieekan had just come up and was regarding you with a stern eye. “I thought you were more professional than this.”_

_“Sorry, General,” you muttered, making your way back to the control room. You tried to focus on what you were doing, however when about half an hour later Luke still hadn’t come through the doors, you started to panic, though you tried not to let it show. By the time you were done with your work, a further two hours later, and allowed to leave, Luke still hadn’t shown up yet. He might have come in through the south entrance, you reflected, so you set aside your holo-pad and went to look for him. As luck would have it, the first person you ran into was C3PO._

_“Hey, 3PO, is Luke back yet?” you asked, hoping he’d know._

_“No, Miss (Y/L/N), nobody knows where he is,” C3PO replied._

_Your heart dropped. “What?”_

_“Well-” C3PO cut himself off as you sprinted off to find Leia. “Well, really! Human behaviour truly astounds me sometimes!”_

_You skidded to halt beside the Millennium Falcon and almost collided with Chewbacca. “Sorry, Chewie,” you apologised, before glancing at Han. “No one’s seen Luke?”_

_“He might have forgotten to check in,” a Deck Officer suggested._

_You ran a hand across your forehead, shakily, ignoring the rest of the conversation until Han said “We’ll have to go out on Tauntauns.”_

_“Sir, the temperature’s dropping too rapidly,” the Officer protested._

_“That’s right,” Han replied, “and my friend’s out in it.”_

 

_“I’m coming too,” you decided._

_“What?” the Deck Officer exclaimed. “Miss (Y/L/N), you’re an analyst, not a-”_

_“Hey, if the kid says she’s coming, she’s coming,” Han cut in._

_You quickly threw on a spare parka and thick gloves, aided by Chewie, before hurrying after Han and jumping onto a Tauntaun. You’d never ridden one before but it was actually easier than it looked._

_“Your Tauntauns’ll freeze before you reach the first marker,” the Deck Officer protested._

_“Then we’ll see you in Hell,” Han retorted, before the pair of you rode off through the open doorway. Han’s first instinct was to ride out to the area where Luke had been before he had gone to check the meteorite and you kept your eyes peeled for any sign of a fallen Tauntaun or an injured Luke. You thought it would be easy but as the snow was whooshing rapidly around you and everywhere else was just white, it wasn’t long before you started to worry. Han seemed to sense your panic because he rode a bit closer to you. “Hey, come on, I’m sure he’s fine. Luke’s tough. And he’s got the Force with him.”_

_“I thought you didn’t believe in the Force?” you queried._

_“I didn’t until I saw him use it on the Death Star,” Han replied._

_“Where are you, Luke?” you murmured, glancing around and wishing you were Force-sensitive so you could find him. The wind was picking up and you were thankful for your goggles, although they did hinder your vision a bit, built for the hot days on Hoth to prevent snow blindness rather than for trying to find a fallen friend in late evening. Your Tauntaun started to complain and you looked quickly around, thinking it sensed a Wampa, but no, you and Han were alone._

_“Come on, we need to keep moving,” Han said, and the pair of you charged your Tauntauns off again through the whirling snow. You kept thinking you saw shadows or figures in front of you but they turned out to be just distortions caused by the swirling flakes. Time meant nothing out in the frozen desert wilderness, you had no idea whether you and Han had been out for a few minutes or a few hours, although you suspected the latter. Just when you were beginning to lose hope, however, you heard something off to your left and whipped your head about to listen. It sounded like a croaky cry on the wind, or perhaps even a dying Tauntaun calling out for help. No, it sounded like..._

_“Be-en..!”_

_“This way!” you shouted, yanking on your Tauntaun’s reins and ignoring its protests as you charged it in the direction of the sound. Han followed and as you burst through a shower of flakes you saw the person lying on the ground in the deep snow. “Luke!” You jumped down from your Tauntaun before it even reached him and waded through the snow, falling down beside him. “Luke, are you alright? Luke! Say something!”_

_Luke was definitely in a bad way. He looked like he had been beaten about a lot, and he was muttering incoherently as you rolled him over and cleared the snow from his face. Han leapt down behind you and ran over to see what was happening._

_“I think he’s delirious,” you said._

_“Ben...Ben...Degobah System...” Luke muttered, not opening his eyes._

_“Come on, Luke, don’t do this to us,” Han muttered. A loud groaning noise caused you both to look up as Han’s Tauntaun collapsed and died. You shook your head and glanced at you own, which wasn’t faring much better. Han grabbed Luke and brought him into a half-sitting position. “Come on, we need to keep him warm.”_

_You helped him half-carry, half-drag Luke’s inert body towards your Tauntaun, but unfortunately it too had decided to expire. You groaned, trying to sound more annoyed than you were frightened. “What now?”_

_“Hang on, kid.” Han took Luke’s lightsaber from his belt and activated it before using it to slice open his dead Tauntaun. The stench was so terrible that you had to turn, still holding onto Luke, and vomit on the snow. “Whew!” Han complained, throwing the innards aside. “This may smell bad, kid, but it’ll keep you warm until we get the shelter built.”_

_You realised what he was doing and helped him stuff Luke inside the carcass. “Luke, you’d better have a shower after this,” you joked, half-heartedly._

_“Yeah,” Han agreed, grinning at you. “I thought they smelled bad on the outside!”_

_You glanced at Luke again before helping Han start setting up a shelter. He was still muttering unintelligibly to himself._

_“Yoda...Degobah...”_

_You wanted to hug him, but at the same time you didn’t want to shove your hands inside a dead Tauntaun, so you settled for patting his head instead. “Hold on, Luke,” you whispered. “Everything’ll be okay.”_

_If Han heard that, he didn’t mock, he just carried on putting up the shelter. You helped him after reassuring yourself that Luke was going to be fine, and together you just managed to cover yourselves and the two dead Tauntauns against the biting cold. Eventually you started to fall asleep but every noise you heard woke you and each time you woke you checked on Luke. He was always breathing heavily but never woke._

_It was the longest night of your entire life._


	2. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

_You were woken by the sound of Han’s com-link crackling with static, shortly followed by what sounded like one of the smaller Rebel scout ships. You sat up, realising you’d been leaning your head against the dead Tauntaun. Luke was still asleep, although when you felt his forehead he wasn’t cold anymore, and you couldn’t see any signs of hypothermia in him. Han wriggled out from your make-shift shelter as you stretched your cramped limbs and you heard him calling “Good morning, nice of you guys to drop by!”_

_“Have they come for us?” you asked._

_“Yep,” Han replied. “Just hang on, we’ll be home soon.”_

_You nodded, although you were still worried about Luke. He’d stopped muttering in his sleep and you supposed that was a good sign. On the other hand, he was almost catatonic by now. Thankfully the officers sent after you were quick to load him into the ship, and the journey back to the base took little over a few seconds. Once inside, Luke was immediately sent to the medical bay and you and Han were quickly checked over for injuries before you were permitted to visit Luke. The second Leia saw you she threw her arms around you for a hug before pulling you away and scolding you._

_“(Y/N), what were you thinking? You could have been killed!” She scowled at Han. “I suppose this was **your** idea dragging her along!”_

**_“Me?”_ ** _Han exclaimed, indignantly. “She came of her own accord!”_

_You ignored them and stepped closer to the bacta tank Luke was submerged in. “Is he going to be alright?” you whispered to the medical droid in charge of it._

_“It will take a while for him to heal, Miss (Y/L/N), but he will be fine,” the droid responded._

_You nodded before reaching up to touch the tank. “You still owe me that drink, Skywalker,” you murmured before turning and walking out of the room, because seeing him just floating lifelessly in the tank was too painful to bear. Leaving Leia and Han staring after you, clearly surprised that you weren’t staying until he woke up, you went straight to the control room._

_“(Y/N), you look like you haven’t slept,” Rieekan said._

_“I’m fine,” you insisted._

_“You don’t look fit for work-”_

_“I said I’m fine!” you snapped, before remembering who you were talking to. “General,” you added in a more reasonable tone, “I’m fine to work.”_

_Rieekan turned away and went to inspect another computer. You started up where you’d left off the evening before, trying not to think about Luke in the bacta tank. From where you sat, however, you had a good view of the medical bay, and after about an hour you saw Leia and Han emerging. Han went straight to the Falcon and Leia came into the control room to converse with Rieekan. After a few minutes, however, you felt her squeeze your shoulder and murmur “He’s awake.”_

_You looked up and glanced towards the meical bay to see Luke coming out of it with the medical droid in tow. Abandoning work completely, you leapt to your feet and hurried out of the room. The medical droid seemed to be trying to talk to Luke, but he wasn’t paying attention as his eyes landed on you. You flew up and hugged him tightly, and Luke returned it with just as much enthusiasm, neither of you caring that others were watching. You could feel your heart racing with relief as you broke apart._

_“Sir, you should be resting,” the medical droid advised._

_“I know, give me a minute,” Luke replied, shooting it a quick glance before returning his gaze to you. “Are you alright?”_

_“Me? I’m fine. What happened to you out there?” you asked, startled that his first thoughts seem to be for you._

_He offered you a sheepish smile. “A Wampa. But I fought it off.”_

_Your eyes widened. “Luke, you’re lucky to be alive.”_

_Luke grinned. “Why, were you worried about me?”_

_You blushed. “Everyone was worried about you. Leia was going spare. The droids were fretting. Han was all set to leave until he heard you hadn’t come back yet. And, yes, if you must know, I was worried too. I mean, who else am I going to drink with now?”_

_Luke laughed and you smiled, reflecting how you’d thought just for a second back in the snow you might not hear that sound again. “I owe you one now, right?”_

_“Yeah,” you agreed, playfully pushing him back away from you. “You do.”_

_Luke wistfully watched you go back to work with more of a spring in your step, noting how good it felt that you were worrying about him. Then, remembering what Ben said about going to the Degobah System, he wandered back to his quarters with a heavy heart, wishing he didn’t have to leave you behind._

_You threw yourself back into work, but it wasn’t long before the detection light on your screen starts flashing wildly. Quickly, you programmed the screen back to its scanner setting and frowned, seeing an unauthorised shape flaring up on the screen. “General, we’re picking something up in Zone 12. Whatever it is, it’s moving east.” Rieekan came to lean over your shoulder and you pointed it out to him. “I think it’s something metal.”_

_He nodded. “Better call Princess Leia.”_

_“I’ll get her,” you volunteered, jumping up. You knew she’d gone to Luke’s quarters, along with Han and Chewie, so you quickly made your way there. Unfortunately, for you, and everyone inside, the door was open and as you approached you saw Han, Chewie, R2D2 and C3PO all staring at Leia...who was kissing Luke._

_You stopped dead in your tracks, knowing you had two options. Either you could run away in tears or you could preserve your dignity in a professional manner like you’d always been taught to do. You opted for the latter and cleared your throat loudly, causing the pair of them to break apart. Luke looked very worried but you ignored him in favour of fixing Leia with a serious look._

_“Sorry to interrupt, but you need to see this,” you said, before turning sharply and making your way back to the control room. Leia quickly hurried after you, looking more apologetic than she had ever looked in her life._

_“(Y/N), I am so sorry, you weren’t meant to see that.”_

_“Oh, I’m sure I wasn’t,” you responded, sarcastically. “But don’t stop on my account, by all means, finish.”_

_She flinched at the venom in your words. “Come on, hear me out. I was just doing it to shut Han up. Honestly.” You glanced straight into her eyes. “(Y/N), you’re my best friend, I’d never do anything to deliberately hurt you, and I’d certainly never try and take Luke away from you.”_

_You believed her and your shoulders slumped. “I don’t know why I’m upset. It’s not like...” You shrugged. “We’re just friends.”_

_By now you’d reached the control room and with Rieekan more focused on what you’d just found, there was no more time to talk about Leia kissing Luke, so you slid back into your seat as the General showed the shape to Leia. Han came in a moment later and together the four of you determined that it wasn’t a Wampa, as a signal then came through the speakers. C3PO stepped in to say that it might be an Imperial code, so Han volunteered to go out with Chewie to investigate it. You closed your eyes and silently prayed that it was just a droid or part of a ship from another planet that didn’t have anything to do with the war at all, but when Han reported in that it was a droid that self-destructed on impact, Leia indentified it as an Imperial Probe Droid. You quickly shut down your computer and grabbed your holo-pad as Rieekan gave the command to evacuate Hoth. Everyone rushed to their quarters to grab their possessions and you followed suit, almost colliding with Luke, dressed in his flight-suit, on your way towards an evacuation ship._

_“Hey, (Y/N), listen, about what you just saw-”_

_You smiled. “It’s alright. Leia explained.”_

_“Oh.” Luke looked relieved, but there was something else there too, in the way he was watching you. You felt a surge of butterflies swarm in your stomach._

_“What?” you asked._

_Luke pulled you into a hug, as best as he could with his helmet tucked under one arm. “I’m really going to miss you.”_

_You frowned, hugging him back. “Why; you’ll be meeting us at the rendezvous point after the battle...won’t you?”_

_Luke shook his head and pulled away from you. “No, I’m...going to the Degobah System.” You must have looked confused because he added “When I was out in the snow, Ben appeared and told me I had to go there to find his old Jedi Master...so he can train me.”_

_“Oh.” You felt a surge of disappointment, having only just had him come back to you from near-dead only to lose him again. “H-how long do you think that’ll take?”_

_“I don’t know.” Luke admitted, although he offered you a hopeful smile. “But it can’t take forever. I’ll meet up with you again at some point.”_

_“Yes, well, you’d better because we still need to have that drink,” you reminded him, trying to sound like you weren’t worrying about him again. His smile widened and you reached up and kissed his cheek, before realising you’d probably just embarrassed, maybe even confused him, and you quickly pulled away, blushing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I just did that.”_

_Luke’s eyes had gone wide and his face had become as flushed as yours as he managed to say “It’s alright,” before pulling on his helmet to cover his new red complexion. Unfortunately, as he turned to leave he hit his helmet against one of the ship’s wings in his dazed state, and you started to laugh. “Shut up,” he said, although you could hear him grinning, which just made you laugh more. “(Y/N), I mean it, shut up.”_

_“See you later, Skywalker,” you said, sobering up. Then, you ran back to the control room to monitor their process on the screens. Your fighters, led by Luke, put up a spirited fight, knocking the Imperial Walkers down by tripping them and you felt a rush of pride knowing you were winning. It wasn’t long, however, before the command to evacuate all remaining ground staff, and that included you, was given. You held back in the control room as long as possible with Leia, knowing that she would stubbornly stay put until the last possible minute. Soon C3PO joined you, and then Han._

_“Leia, come on, we’ve got to go now,” you said, realising that you were now the only ones left in the room.” They’ll be here any second.”_

_She ignored you in favour of barking out more orders through the com-links, and ignoring Han stating he was going to get the two of you out of the base before he did anything else. Han glanced at you and you knew what he was thinking. You nodded and the two of you grabbed Leia’s arms and practically dragged her out of the room with C3PO nervously running behind you. You could see the evacuation ship just a few feet in front of you when a sudden explosion rocked the whole base and Han yanked you both against the wall as a cave-in blocked your exit completely._

_“Oh..!” You darted forwards and shook your head. “There’s no time to shift all this. How are we going to get out?”_

_Han pulled his com-link out of his pocket. “Transport, this is Solo. Better take off, I can’t get to you. I’ll get the Princess and (Y/N) out on the Falcon.”_

_The three of you turned and raced in the opposite direction, startling C3PO as you rushed past him. You could hear the sound of Imperial blasters all around the base and a chilling sense of dread filled the pit of your stomach. You prayed that Luke was alright. Chewbacca barked out a relieved greeting as the four of you rushed towards the Falcon and just managed to get inside as more explosions cake the Falcon in spatterings of ice._

_“We don’t have much time,” you reported, throwing yourself into the nearest seat. “At the rate they’re gaining, they’ll be on us in a matter of seconds!” You looked up, however, to find that no one was listening to you; Han, Chewie and Leia too busy bickering about the Falcon and C3PO being ignored himself. You shook your head, suddenly missing a certain Jedi. “At least Luke always listens to me,” you muttered. As Han and Leia joined you in the cockpit, you glanced out of the window to your right and then flinched. “Here they come!”_

_As the Stormtroopers swarmed into the room, Han buckled himself into the pilot’s seat, Chewie leapt into the seat beside him and you and Leia held on; Chewie using a hidden canon in the ship to get a few good hits on the Imperial Troopers before the Falcon finally lifted into the air and shot through the hanger doors into the air. Glancing back, you spotted Darth Vader himself and a shiver ran through you as you realised how close you had just come to being killed by him._

_You leaned back in your seat and sighed in relief, unaware that the danger wasn’t over yet...for about ten minutes anyway. The next thing you knew Han was reporting that two Star Destroyers were tailing the Falcon. Soon the ship was racing through the stars with Imperial Destroyers right behind it, and by your calculations there was no way that Han could get his ship out of their range of fire long enough to lose them, unless he had some kind of trick up his sleeve to outrun them._

_“Prepare to make the jump to light-speed!” Han instructed Chewie, breaking into your thoughts._

_“They’re getting closer!” Leia exclaimed._

_“Oh, yeah? Watch this!” Han’s moment of triumph was cut short, however, when he flicked the right switch and nothing happened._

_“Watch what, exactly?” you asked._

_Han tried again but still nothing happened. “We’re in trouble!”_

_You quickly pulled out your holo-pad and did a quick scan of the area. “It gets worse, there’s nowhere to land for miles! Hoth was the nearest planet in this system; there’s no way we’ll get to the next one before they catch up to us, and even if we can they’ll only land right behind us!”_

_Han and Chewie quickly raced out of the cockpit, leaving the ship on manual control as they tried to figure out what was wrong with the hyperdrive. You and Leia exchanged worried looks as they snapped orders back and forth to one another whilst the sound of blasting echoed all around you...and then something smacked right into the side of the ship and you both almost jumped out of your seats as you looked up to see asteroids the size of X-Wings falling towards you. In a second, Han was back in his seat, ordering Chewie to fly into the field. You instantly realised why; the Star Destroyers might be desperate to destroy you but they weren’t so desperate they’d be willing to destroy their own ships to do so. In spite of C3PO reeling off the odds of surviving in an asteroid field, the Falcon slid through neatly, avoiding each chunk of rock that flew your way, and eventually Han flew the ship closer to one of the bigger asteroids and dived neatly into a large crater that led to a tunnel right into the heart of the rock._

_“Well,” you said, after a beat, “I think we lost them.”_


	3. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

_With the Falcon settled safely inside the cave on the asteroid, you quickly forgot your fears about the Empire tracking you down and turned your thoughts instead to what would happen when you eventually got out of there. You quickly got to work calculating all possible routes and landing sites within a thousand mile radius whilst Han and Chewie got ready to look over the Falcon again. Suddenly, however, the ship lurched and you were almost thrown out of your seat._

_“Sir, it’s possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable,” C3PO piped up._

_“Not entirely stable?” Han repeated, sarcastically. “Well, I’m glad you’re here to tell us these things. Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyper-drive!”_

_You giggled as C3PO went away, muttering about human behaviour, and then the ship lurched a second time. This time, however, you were ready for it and you grabbed the arm of your chair. Leia and Han, however, were thrown against each other._

_“Let go, please,” Leia muttered._

_“Don’t get excited,” Han replied, sarcastically. They seemed to have forgotten you were there, you realised, as you glanced up to witness the conversation._

_“Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited,” Leia retorted._

_“Sorry, sweetheart,” Han grinned, wickedly, setting her back on her feet. “Didn’t have time for anything else.”_

_Leia blushed and looked away as he left, her eyes landing on you. “He’s impossible, he really is!”_

_You smiled and shut down your holo-pad for a minute. “You know, my aunt knew a woman like you who met a guy like Han, you know, cocky, roguish, Devil-may-care kind of guy. He wasn’t a smuggler but he was often in trouble with people like Jabba the Hutt a lot, and he used to drive her crazy. They bickered the way you two do, only if what my aunt tells me is right there was often throwing of things involved in their rows.”_

_Leia blinked, obviously wondering why you were telling her this story. “Yeah, and what happened to them?”_

_“They realised they had feelings for each other, got married and had me,” you finished, with a gesture of your hand. Her blush deepened and you shook your head. “You two are going to end up just like my parents, I can feel it.”_

_“No,” Leia insisted. “Never.”_

_“Leia, you’re redder than a Coruscant sunset right now,” you point out._

_She folded her arms, trying to divert your focus away from her. “And you don’t go like that whenever Luke’s around?”_

_It was your turn to blush. “Yeah, well, we all know that’s probably never going to happen. I mean...he’s the one who blew up the Death Star, he’s a Jedi, he’s a Commander now...he could have any girl in the galaxy, it’s not like he’d settle for a orphaned statistical analyst from Coruscant...not if he had any sense, anyway...” Your voice trailed away and you got to your feet. “I’m going to see if C3PO’s having any luck.”_

_You hurried out of the room just so you wouldn’t have to look at her. It was true, much as you hoped Luke might feel the same way about you as you felt about him he had never actually done anything to indicate he might see you as anything more than a friend..._

_...except for his panic over that kiss._

_You stopped, wondering. He had looked worried when you walked into the room, and he had gone racing to try and explain it to you, as if he was worried you might have misinterpreted what you saw, which of course you had, at first. And then when you had kissed him he had become completely dazed..._

_You smiled, daring to hope again._

_C3PO was talking with the control panel not far from where Han and Chewie were working when you walked up. “It says the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized,” C3PO was saying to Han. “I’m afraid you’ll have to replace it.”_

_“Well, of course I’ll have to replace it,” Han said, his voice dripping with irony as he passed a wire coil up to Chewie. “Here, and Chewie...” He lowered his voice. “I think we’d better replace the negative power coupling.”_

_“Can I do anything?” you offered._

_“You ever fixed a ship before?” Han asked._

_You shrugged. “I’ve dabbled on Coruscant.”_

_“Alright, Chewie, (Y/N)’s gonna help for a bit, I’ll be right back.” Han walked off and you handed Chewie up various tools when he pointed to them and grunted, being that it was the only way to communicate with you since you didn’t speak Wookie. Suddenly C3PO exclaimed “That’s it, I’ve done it!” before rushing off to find Han. “Sir! Sir!”_

_“What do you think that’s about?” you asked Chewie, who made a growl and a shrugging motion with his shoulders._

_“Sir, sir, I’ve isolated the reverse power flux coupling!” C3PO called into the room Han had disappeared into._

_“Thank you,” Han replied, icily. “Thank you very much.”_

_“Oh, you’re perfectly welcome, Sir,” C3PO replied, cheerfully._

_Han emerged from the room and went right back to helping Chewie. A second later, Leia emerged from the room, looking both flustered and confused. Realising what had happened, you turned away and smiled. Of course you knew you’d hear the whole story from her later. Han, of course, was frustrated over having been interrupted by C3PO and didn’t say much to either you or Chewie for the next few hours, except to mutter orders about fixing the Falcon. After a while, you felt you’d done all you could do and wandered into one of the other rooms, the one with the holo-chess table. You sat down and propped your chin in your hands, your thoughts wandering back to Luke. Was he on Degobah right now? What was this former Jedi Master of Obi-Wan’s like? Was he making Luke train right now, even as you sat thinking about him?_

_Was he thinking about you right now?_

_Your thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shriek from Leia. You jumped to your feet and ran to the door as she appeared in the corridor. “There’s something out there!”_

_Han looked up. “What?”_

_“Outside in the cave.” As she said it, something began to bang against the side of the hull. Chewie growled, suspiciously._

_You frowned. “Do things live on asteroids?”_

_“I’m going out there,” Han decided._

_“Are you crazy?” Leia exclaimed._

_Probably, you thought, but didn’t say it._

_“I just got this bucket back together, I’m not going to let something tear it apart.” Han grabbed an oxygen mask and headed for the door. Leia groaned._

_“Then I’m going with you!” She grabbed a mask and hurried after him._

_“Wait for me!” you exclaimed, also grabbing a mask. Chewie grabbed the last one and the pair of you followed Han and Leia out into the cave. As expected it was rather dark, light enough to just about see in front of you but not light enough to see what was attacking the ship._

_“This ground sure feels strange,” Leia pointed out, her voice muffled by her mask. “It doesn’t feel like rock at all.”_

_You experimentally prodded at the ground with the toe of your boot and glanced at Chewie, who grunted, head tilted to one side. Leia was right, the ground was too soft and squishy to be rock, but at the same time too solid to be ice or sand._

_“There’s an awful lot of moisture in here,” Han added, thoughtfully._

_You shuddered. “I don’t know about you guys, but I have a bad feeling about this.”_

_Chewie barked something to Han and pointed to the ship. You caught a glimpse of something large, dark and leathery swooping over the top of it before it was blasted by Han. He and Chewie ran to inspect it. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Han reported. “Mynock. Chewie, check the rest of the ship, make sure there aren’t any more chewing on the power cables.”_

_“Mynock?” Leia repeated, mystified._

_“Go on inside, we’ll clean them off if there are any more.”_

_You were about to ask if they were dangerous when several of the creatures suddenly took off over your heads and you both yelped and ran back inside the ship. C3PO was also panicking about them and he was indoors. At that minute, the ship lurched again and Han frowned. “Wait a minute.” He shot at the ground and the cavern began to shake. You frowned, wondering if he was about to cause a cave-in, when he suddenly ran into the ship. “Alright, Chewie, let’s get out of here!”_

_“The Empire’s still out there,” Leia argued. “I don’t think it’s wise to-!”_

_“No time to discuss this in committee!”_

_“I am not a committee!”_

_“Can you two maybe hold off your lover’s tiff for a bit until we know what’s going on?” you asked, stunned that they couldn’t seem to stop bickering even for a second, even at a time like this. Chewie grunted in what you hoped was agreement._

_“I think I know what’s going on already,” Han told you, jumping into his seat._

_“You can’t make the jump to light-speed in this asteroid field,” Leia argued._

_“Sit down, sweetheart, we’re taking off.”_

_You strapped yourself firmly in as the ship took off towards the cave entrance. As you approached, it seemed to be collapsing in on itself. Rows of what look like stalagmites and stalactites lined the mouth of the cave, drawing nearer and nearer to one another._

_“The cave is collapsing!” Leia exclaimed._

_“This is no cave,” Han said._

_“What?”_

_“Oh my...” That was all you could manage as the ship made a tight manoeuvre between two of the rocks, and you realised they weren’t rocks at all but giant teeth, the five of you had just emerged from inside the mouth of a giant space slug-like creature. That, you reflected, explained the soft ground and moisture inside the cave. Within seconds, the Falcon was back inside the asteroid field and searching once again for a good hiding place. Still, you reflected, you’d rather take your chances with the Empire than you would with a giant carnivorous space slug, any day of the week._

_You leaned back in your seat and shook your head. “Alright, up until the nearly-being-eaten bit, it was a good plan. But what now?”_

_Han shook his head, his eyes focused on the sky. “I don’t know, kid.”_

_“But thank goodness we’re coming out of the asteroid field,” C3PO pointed out, cheerfully._

_You couldn’t help but smile at his optimism, although as Chewie gave a low growl a moment later you realised that it was a little premature as a sudden blast came from nowhere and hit the ship. You looked around and realised you could see the reflection of a Star Destroyer in the window in front of you. “Oh, no, they found us!”_

_“Let’s get out of here,” Han said, as the ship took another hit. “Ready for light-speed? One, two...three!” Once again, however, the ship just jolted a little. “It’s not fair,” Han muttered. Chewie growled angrily as Han tried again. “The transfer circuits are working...it’s not my fault!”_

_Chewie whined, head in hands._

_“No light-speed?” Leia repeated._

_“It’s not my fault.”_

_“Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield,” C3PO reported. “One more hit on the back quarter and we’re done for.”_

_“And there’s still nowhere to go,” you added, hoping you weren’t depressing your friends further by pointing out the obvious._

_“Turn her around,” Han ordered. Chewie barked, puzzled. “I said turn her around. I’m going to put all power in the front shield.”_

_“You’re going to attack them?” Leia asked._

_“Sir, the odds of destroying-”_

_“Shut up, 3PO!” you hissed._

_Han steered the Falcon around and you tensed, holding your breath as the ship wheeled around before racing towards the Star Destroyer. You noted now just how small the ship was compared to the Imperial vessels as it bobbed and weaved to avoid being hit by blasts from the Imperials. The Falcon skimmed over a window and Han landed neatly atop the Destroyer, out of their sight. You smiled. “Brilliant. Their computers won’t be able to trace us now.”_

_“Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far! No, I won’t be quiet, Chewbacca!” C3PO snapped as Chewie barked something at him. “Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?”_

_“The fleet’s beginning to break up,” Han murmured. “Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw.”_

_Chewie grunted and went to do so._

_“I really don’t see how that is going to help,” C3PO protested. “Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough-”_

_Leia switched him off and you smiled. “Thank you,” Han said, wearily._

_“What did you have in mind for your next move?” Leia asked, her voice now soft and trusting._

_“Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure,” Han replied, “they’ll dump their garbage before they go to light-speed, then we just float away.”_

_“With the rest of the garbage,” Leia agreed, nodding. “Then what?”_

_“Then we’ve got to find a safe port somewhere around here.” Han glanced at you. “Anything?”_

_You checked your holo-pad. “We’re in the Anoat system, so there’s not much out here for miles. The nearest planet, and probably our best bet, would be Bespin.”_

_“Lando,” Han said, suddenly._

_“Lando system?” Leia asked._

_“Lando’s not a system, he’s a man. Lando Calrissian. He’s a card player, gambler, scoundrel – you’d like him.”_

_You giggled. “And he’s on Bespin?”_

_“The mining colony?” Leia queried._

_“Yeah, a Tibanna mine,” Han replied. “Lando conned somebody out of it. We go back a long way, Lando and me.”_

_“Can you trust him?” Leia asked._

_“No, but he has no love for the Empire, I can tell you that.”_

_You shrugged. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, let’s go.”_

_Chewie barked something over the intercom. “Here we go, Chewie,” Han replied, readying himself. “Stand by. Detach!”_

_As space garbage began to float past the windows, the Falcon slowly drew back, slipping out from under the Empire’s nose without them even knowing it had been there. Leia patted Han’s shoulder. “You have your moments,” she admitted. “Not many, but you do have them.”_

_You quickly calculated the best route for the Falcon to get to Bespin, which Han quickly programmed into the computer. Then, you leaned back in your seat and closed your eyes, content that you were all safe for the minute. Your thoughts again travelled to Luke, busy training on Degobah. What did that involve? You didn’t know much about Jedi but you knew that they had to be at one with the Force all the time, clear mind and all that. Perhaps Obi-Wan’s former Master had Luke meditating or doing some similar exercise that involved him being calm at all times. You remembered him telling you about wanting to become a Jedi._

_“Like my father,” he had explained one night in the bar. The two of you had found a quiet table away from everyone else, and only R2D2 was witness to your conversation. “I never met him, but I wish I had. Obi-Wan said he was a great Jedi. I don’t even know anything about him beyond that.”_

_“You know, my home planet was where the Jedi used to train,” you replied. “The old Jedi temple’s still there, but there are barely any Jedi left now. No one knows what really happened but it’s said that when Darth Vader was younger he wiped out all the younglings, the children who were training to be Jedi,” you added when Luke looked confused at the term, “and the Emperor led an attack on the surviving adult Jedi that wiped almost all of them out in the space of a night. No one wanted to knock down the temple, they thought it was sinful to even think about it, so it’s just been left the way it was before.” You smiled. “I guess deep down people hoped that the Jedi would return one day.”_

_“Hopefully, they will.” Luke grinned. “Or at least, I’ll try to make that happen.” You giggled at his confidence. “What about you?”_

_“What about me?” you asked, coyly._

_“Any Force-sensitives in your family?” Luke pressed, curiously. “I mean, you’re from Coruscant, were any of your ancestors ever-?”_

_“Not that I’m aware of,” you cut in. “Although my uncle did do a bit of work up at the temple before he died, illness, not Darth Vader,” you added quickly, when Luke looked startled. “He was a technician and computer programmer and whenever they had a problem with any of their tech, they called on him first.”_

_That was it as far as you were concerned, but Luke was determined to know everything about your family. “What about your parents?”_

_“Statistical analysts, just like me, both of them,” you replied glancing down as you toyed with your straw. “I was three when they died. There was a fire at the place they worked at and they just...didn’t get out in time.”_

_“(Y/N), I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Luke said, quickly, moving his hand over yours in concern. “I was just curious.”_

_“It’s okay.” You raised your head. “I barely knew them really. It was more upsetting when my cousins died.” You took a deep breath, trying not to cry. “You see, I was there when it happened. I don’t know how the Empire found out about what I could do, I guess someone who knew me must have joined up and told them about me. But one day they came knocking, when I was out and...well, none of my cousins were going to tell them where I was. They even protested I’d died so the Stormtroopers were wasting their time looking for me, but of course they didn’t buy it, and...” You shuddered, causing Luke to tighten his grip on your hand. “I was right there. I saw them get gunned down right in front of me, and all I could do was stand there in shock...” You pulled your hand away to wipe your eyes with both hands. “I couldn’t do anything.”_

_“(Y/N), what could you have done? You’d have been killed too.” Luke pointed out. “And then they’d still have the Death Star and still be destroying whole planets.”_

_You nodded. “Yeah. I know. It’s just...I wish it hadn’t had to happen.”_

_Luke shifted closer to you and wrapped you in a hug and you immediately felt better. “I think they’d all be really proud of you right now, (Y/N).”_

_You smiled and hugged him back. “And I bet your father would be really proud of you too, Luke.”_

_“No, I don’t have a landing permit.” You opened your eyes, jolted out of the memory by Han talking into the intercom. “I’m trying to reach Lando Calrissian.” Sitting up, you ignored the rest of the ensuing conversation as you saw that the Falcon was now coming up on Bespin and you felt a twinge of relief at seeing civilisation again at last._

_*_

_“Concentrate...feel the Force flow...” Luke listened to Yoda’s words as he stood upside down in the middle of the swampy planet, using the Force to levitate two large equipment cases, and a very startled R2D2 into the air. “Yes, good. Calm, yes. Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future...the past...old friends long gone...”_

_A vision of you flashed into Luke’s mind and his eyes flew open. “(Y/N)! Han! Leia!”_

_The two boxes, and R2D2, fell to the ground as he tumbled over in shock. “Control, control,” Yoda insisted, shaking his head. “You must learn control.”_

_“I saw...I saw a city in the clouds,” Luke replied, panting._

_“Mm, friends you have there,” Yoda nodded. “One who to you means a lot.”_

_Luke nodded, his mind still on you. “They were in pain.”_

_“It is the future you see,” Yoda replied._

_Luke looked up, worried. “Future? Will she...will they die?”_

_Yoda closed his eyes and concentrated. “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”_

_“I’ve got to go to them,” Luke said, springing to his feet._

_“Decide you must how to serve them best,” Yoda said. “If you leave now, help them, help her, you could, but you would destroy all for which they, for which she, has fought and suffered.”_

_Luke nodded, feeling a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. His mind was no longer on the Force or training, but on the way he had let you steal into his heart, how his thoughts kept constantly drifting back to you, and how much that vision of you screaming in pain had shaken him right to the core._


	4. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

_As the Falcon touched down on the landing platform, having finally been given clearance to do so, you took in the beauty and wonder of Bespin. Coruscant was beautiful in an urban sense but there was something completely ethereal about this new planet and you were tingling to get off the ship and onto the platform. Han led the way down the ramp as a party of men came towards you, led by a dark man in a cloak._

_“See?” Han grinned at you and Leia. “My friend.” You didn’t miss him muttering to Chewie “Keep your eyes open, okay?”_

_You decided to let Han approach Lando first, and the latter greeted him with a stern “Why you slimy, no-good, double-crossing swindler! You’ve got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled!” Then, he made a move to attack Han, which made you flinch, before his face broke into a grin and he hugged Han tightly with a laugh. “How’re you doing, you old pirate? So good to see you! I never thought I’d catch up with you again! Where’ve you been?”_

_You breathed a sigh of relief, although you noted that Lando’s reaction did seem a bit...overcompensating, as though he was hiding something from Han. Still, Han didn’t seem worried._

_“Well, he seems very friendly,” C3PO stated, echoing your thoughts._

_“Yes...very friendly,” agreed Leia, warily._

_The three of you approached in time to hear Lando greeting Chewie before turning to the pair of you. “Hello, what have we here?” He stepped up to greet you. “Welcome, I’m Lando Calrissian, I’m the administrator of this facility, and who might you two be?”_

_You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at his suave attitude. “I’m (Y/N), and this is Leia.”_

_“Welcome, (Y/N), and Leia,” Lando greeted you, kissing both your hands. Before he could say anything else, though, Han extracted Leia’s hand from his, grinning “Alright, alright, you old smoothie.” You discreetly slipped your hand out of Lando’s and joined Chewie with a smile. “What do you think, a good place to hide for a bit?” Chewie roared softly and nodded. Lando quickly walked to the front of the group and lead the way into Cloud City. He and Han began talking business and you distracted yourself by looking around the wondrous city that Lando was leading you through. At his insistence, you and Leia were taken to a room where you could change out of your now impractical Hoth outfits and into long dresses and cloaks, which seemed to be the traditional formal dress for Bespin. Somewhere along the way C3PO vanished and Chewie went to look for him. You could tell, however, that Leia was suspicious about all this and you were about to ask why when Han joined you in the room._

_“The ship’s almost finished,” he reported, grinning. “Two or three more things and we’re in great shape.”_

_“The sooner the better,” Leia fretted. “Something’s wrong here. No one has seen or knows anything about 3PO and he’s been gone too long to have gotten lost.”_

_“Relax, I’ll talk to Lando, see what I can find out.”_

_“I don’t trust Lando.”_

_“Well, I don’t trust him either. But he is my friend.” Han glance at you, seated by the window. You had your holo-pad out again but you weren’t focused on it, instead you were staring off into space. “You alright, (Y/N)?”_

_You shrugged and pretended to work again. “Just thinking about Luke, that’s all. I wish he was here with us.”_

_“She’s pining,” Leia smiled._

_You shot her a look. “I am not. I just wish he was here right now because then I’d have someone to talk to when you two start kissing the second my back’s turned.” Both Han and Leia flushed, looking embarrassed as you grinned at them. “See, you’re not the only ones who can tease.”_

_At that point, Chewie strolled into the room carrying a box full of droid parts...gold droid parts._

_“Oh, no!” you exclaimed, clambering to your feet._

_“What happened?” Leia asked._

_Chewie set the box containing C3PO on the table and grunted an explanation._

_“Where?” Han asked. Chewie roared again and Han frowned at the pair of you. “Found him in a junk pile.”_

_“What a mess,” Leia murmured. “Chewie, you think you can repair him?”_

_Chewie held up C3PO’s severed arm and shrugged with a groan._

_“Lando’s got people who can fix him,” Han said._

_“No, thanks,” Leia replied, coolly._

_“Something does feel a bit off about him,” you agreed. “Although, maybe he’s just still sore about something you did to him in the past.” Chewie growled something that sounded like an agreement with your words. Han looked embarrassed so you knew you were right on the mark._

_“That was a long time ago, Chewie, I’m sure he’s forgotten about that.”_

_At that moment, Lando walked into the room. You shut down your holo-pad and smiled as he approached. “I’m sorry,” he greeted, “am I interrupting something?”_

_“Not really,” Leia replied, regally dignified as ever._

_Lando looked you both up and down. “You two look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds.”_

_You blush, inadvertently. “Thank you, Lando.”_

_“Will you join me for a little refreshment? Everyone’s invited of course,” Lando added as Chewie looked up at the mention of food. “Having trouble with your droid?”_

_“No, no trouble,” Han insisted, taking Leia’s arm and manoeuvring her out of the room._

_You smile. “Chewie likes to take him apart when he gets on people’s nerves, don’t you, Chewie?” Chewie laughed and you tucked your arm through his furry one just to have an excuse not to be escorted by Lando. It wasn’t that you didn’t like him, it was just that you didn’t like him the way you liked, more than liked, Luke and at least Chewie was already aware that your heart lay elsewhere. The pair of you followed Han and Leia and once again Lando took the lead of the group. As you walked, Lando explained that Bespin wasn’t actually a part of the mining guild but operated outside of it, which was risky, since it meant they worked outside of the Empire._

_“But things have developed that will ensure security,” he finished, stopping outside a closed door. “I’ve just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever.”_

_He tapped in the door code and you turned to the dining room..._

_...and immediately all of you froze._

_There, seated at the head of the table, was Darth Vader._

_Both you and Han acted on instinct – “save the Princess first” – and drew your blasters. Your shots were deflected by the Sith Lord, however, and then he used the Force to pull your blasters out of your hands and into his own. You gasped as the four of you pressed closer together for security._

_“We would be honoured if you would join us,” Darth Vader intoned._

_Han looked quickly at Lando, who looked uncomfortable. “I had no choice, they arrived right before you did. I’m sorry.”_

_“I’m sorry too,” Han replied, tersely._

_Gripping Chewie’s arm, you followed as your friends stepped into the room, dreading whatever Darth Vader might be about to do to you._

_*_

_Luke was hastily packing his equipment into the X-Wing on Degobah, unable to get the memory of your screams out of his head. R2D2 was already settled in his cubby hole, awaiting take off._

_“Luke, you must complete the training,” Yoda insisted._

_“I can’t keep the vision out of my head,” Luke replied. “She’s my friend, they all are, I’ve got to help them.”_

_“You must not go!” Yoda insisted._

_“But (Y/N) will die if I don’t!” Luke snapped._

_“You don’t know that.” Obi-Wan’s spirit appeared beside Yoda. “Even Yoda cannot see her fate.”_

_“But I can save her! I feel the Force!” Luke insisted._

_“But you cannot control it,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force.”_

_“Yes, yes, to Obi-Wan you listen,” Yoda insisted. “The cave, remember your failure at the cave.”_

_“But I’ve learned so much since then,” Luke insisted. “Master Yoda, I promise to return and finish what I’ve begun, you have my word.”_

_“It is you and your abilities that the Emperor wants,” Obi-Wan said. “That is why your friends, why (Y/N) is made to suffer.”_

_“That’s why I have to go,” Luke said, simply._

_“Luke, I don’t want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost Vader.”_

_“You won’t.”_

_“Stopped they must be,” Yoda insisted. “On this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the Force as his ally will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.”_

_“Patience,” Obi-Wan agreed._

_“And sacrifice (Y/N)?” Luke snapped._

_“If you honour what she fights for...yes,” Yoda replied._

_“If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone,” Obi-Wan advised. “I cannot interfere.”_

_Luke nodded. “I understand. R2, fire up the convertors.”_

_“Luke, don’t give in to hate,” Obi-Wan said as Luke climbed into the X-Wing. “That leads to the Dark Side.”_

_“Strong is Vader,” Yoda agreed. “Mind what you have learned. Save you, it can.”_

_“I will,” Luke promised. “And I’ll return, I promise.” R2D2 beeped enthusiastically as the X-Wing took off and they left the swampy planet behind. Luke reached out with his mind, searching for wherever you were, praying you hadn’t been hurt yet. “I’m coming, (Y/N), just hold on, okay? I’m coming.”_

_*_

_In years to come, you wouldn’t remember much about the torture, just the pain and the way it made you scream. When Darth Vader had his Stormtroopers split the four of you up and sent to separate rooms, you were expecting to be interrogated about future Rebel movements or even for Darth Vader to demand to know how Luke had managed to blow up the Death Star single-handed. When it came down to it, however, once back in your Hoth outfit, you were strapped to a rack that was set before a machine that sent minute electric shocks into your body, and quickly had you crying out in agony. When it was finally over, you were dragged out of the room by the Stormtroopers and shoved into a holding cell where the others were waiting. You stumbled but Chewie and Leia caught hold of you and sat you down on the bunk where Han was lying._

_“You alright, kid?” Han asked, sounding as bad as you felt._

_You shuddered. “Not really. They didn’t question me or anything.”_

_“Yeah, same,” Han replied, confused._

_“Why are they doing this?” Leia asked. The door slid open and she looked up before reporting to Han, who couldn’t see who’d just walked in from where he was lying, “Lando.”_

_Han sat up. “Get out of here, Lando!”_

_“Shut up and listen!” Han snapped. “Vader’s agreed to turn the girls and Chewie over to me.”_

_“Over to you?”_

_“They’ll have to stay here but at least they’ll be safe.”_

_You frowned, rubbing your forehead. “Just us? What about Han?”_

_“Vader’s giving him to a bounty hunter,” Lando replied._

_“Vader wants us all dead!” Leia snapped._

_“He doesn’t want you at all,” Lando replied. “He’s after somebody called...Skywalker.”_

_Your head shot up. “Luke?”_

_“Lord Vader set a trap for him.”_

_“And we’re the bait,” Leia realised._

_“Well, he’s on his way,” Lando finished._

_You sprang to your feet. “Well, you have to stop him! Don’t give him clearance to land or something! Hold him off! Anything!” You blinked back a few tears. “Please?”_

_The look on Lando’s face as he shook his head told you he was powerless to do that. “Perfect,” Han spat, clambering to his feet. “You fixed us up pretty good, didn’t you, my friend?”_

_He punched Lando, but a second later the guards knocked him down with their rifles. Chewie roared, indignantly and rushed at the guards but you grabbed his arm to hold him back as the guards aimed their guns at him. “Stop!” Lando demanded, retrieving his cloak which had fallen off. “I’ve done all I can. I’m sorry I couldn’t do better but I’ve got my own problems.”_

_“Yeah, you’re a real hero,” Han muttered, rubbing his stomach where the guards had hit him down. As Lando left, you finally felt it was alright to let go of Chewie so he and Leia could help Han to his feet._

_“You certainly have a way with people,” Leia murmured._

_You sat down on the bunk, rubbing your fingers over your eyes. “Luke wouldn’t really be idiot enough to come and try and rescue us...would he?” You looked up at your friends. None of them spoke, even Chewie was quiet, and you knew that meant that they all knew what you knew, that Luke would be idiot enough to do just that but they didn’t want to say so. You buried your head back in your hands and ignored Leia as she sat down next to you and put her arm around her shoulders._

_“Hey, come on,” Han said, gently, “the kid’s tough. He blew up an entire space station by himself. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Right, Chewie?” Chewie growled softly in agreement. “See?”_

_You nodded, hoping he was right._

_It was about half an hour later when the four of you, with the now half-fixed C3PO strapped to Chewie’s back and grumbling about how he hadn’t been put together properly, were escorted out of your cell and led to an enormous carbon freezing chamber. None of you had any idea what was going on or why you’d been brought there until Han muttered, bitterly, to Lando “What’s going on, buddy?”_

_“You’re being put into carbon freeze,” Lando replied, looking as though he didn’t like the idea of that any more than the rest of you did. You looked up as one of the bounty hunters muttered something to Darth Vader, who responded before barking out “Put him in!”_

_Chewie immediately reacted by attacking the Stromtroopers surrounding the four of you. C3PO yelped, panicking about being hurt, and you managed to grab the Wookie’s arm as the guards began to attack him back. “No, wait, Chewie, stop!”_

_“Chewie, stop, do you hear?” Han shouted, moving closer to Chewie who moaned as the guards slapped binders on him. You squeezed his arm, gently, trying to make him calm down and glared at the guards._

_“Back off, you’re making him worse,” you told them, and to your surprise they obeyed._

_“Chewie, this won’t help me,” Han said, as Chewie finally calmed down. “Hey, save your strength, okay? There’ll be another time. The girls, you have to take care of them, you hear me?”_

_Chewie groaned, mournfully as Leia approached and took his other arm. You reached up and quickly hugged Han before making room so he and Leia could kiss one last time. Then the Stormtroopers pulled him back onto the hydraulic platform._

_“I love you,” Leia exclaimed._

_“I know,” Han replied, and you felt yourself start to cry because that was so like Han. Slowly, the platform lowered and you all wanted to look away but none of you could bring yourselves to. You and Leia clung tightly to Chewie who kept grunting and crying out mournfully as Han suddenly disappeared in a burst of steam. None of you took any notice of C3PO who was complaining about not being able to see, you were too focused on the metal claw that was now reaching into the chamber. It extracted a large solidified carbon block and dropped it onto the platform in front of you. The block fell back and you and Leia both flinched seeing Han encased inside it, looking as though he were in the utmost agony. Chewie turned, slightly, finally letting C3PO see what had happened._

_“Oh! They’ve encased him in carbonite!” C3PO piped up. “He should be quite well protected, if he survived the freezing process, that is!”_

_“Shut up, 3PO,” you muttered._

_After establishing that Han was alive, an officer raced up to report that Luke had just landed. You raised your eyes as Darth Vader gave orders for the four of you to be taken to his ship._

_“You said they’d be left in the city under my supervision,” Lando argued, indignantly._

_“I am altering the deal,” Darth Vader replied. “Pray I don’t alter it any further.”_

_As Lando turned to you, you realised how much he was beginning to regret the deal he had made...and how easily he had probably been tricked into making it. Together, the three of you, with C3PO still carried by Chewie, trooped from the room, flanked by Stormtroopers. The bounty hunter led the way with Han’s frozen form, which you couldn’t bear to look it. It was almost like you were looking at a symbol of how evil the Empire truly was. Instead, you kept your eyes focused all around you, looking for Luke in case he suddenly turned up. You knew you’d have precious seconds in which to warn him about the trap and you couldn’t waste them. Just when you were beginning to think he hadn’t come into the city, two of the Stormtroopers suddenly opened fire at something, or someone, to the side of you and the three of you were quickly hustled further down the corridor. You looked around and spotted Luke hiding around the corner, his blaster in his hand._

_“Luke,” you murmured, before struggling against your captors. “Luke, no! It’s a trap!” The Stormtrooper had to lift you off the ground to stop you escaping but you continued to struggle and kick, fighting back with all you had in you. “Get out of here! It’s a trap! The carbon freeze-!” You were cut off as the Stormtrooper finally succeeded in dragging you out of the corridor, although you still put up a fight. “Get off me! Luke, get out of here!”_

_The Stormtrooper dropped you back on your feet and shoved you forwards into an intersection of the city, where you were met by a dozen of Lando’s guards, as well as his second-in-command, Lobot. You frowned in confusion as the Stormtroopers immediately surrendered, seeing they were outnumbered, and then you realised Lando must have secretly called them whilst you were walking through the city. The guards relieved the Stormtroopers of their weapons and Lobot handed one to Lando, who instructed him to take the Stormtroopers to the security tower. As the guards left with their prisoners, Lando shoved the blaster into Leia’s hands and began to unlock Chewie’s binders._

_“What are you doing?” Leia asked._

_“We’re getting out of here,” Lando replied._

_“I knew it all along,” C3PO said, “Had to be a mistake.”_

_The second Chewie was free, however, he grabbed Lando by the throat and started to choke him. You turned your head back in the direction you’d come in, hoping Luke would turn up, so you missed the rest of the ensuing conversation until Leia grabbed your arm. “Come on, (Y/N), we have to hurry.”_

_“I’m terribly sorry about all this,” C3PO apologised to Lando, whom Chewie had now dropped. “After all, he’s only a Wookie.”_

_You looked down at Lando. “Are you coming?”_

_Lando got to his feet and ran alongside you as you followed Leia and Chewie towards the east platform, hoping to stop the bounty hunter taking Han. Suddenly, with a cheerful beeping and whistling, your number was made larger._

_“R2! R2!” C3PO exclaimed. “Where have you been?”_

_“R2, where did you come from?” you asked. When R2D2 cheekily chirped “Degobah!” in droid-speak, you rolled your eyes. “Now isn’t the time for a smart mouth! Where’s Luke?” R2D2 whistled that he didn’t know, they’d got separated. You sighed and shook your head, hoping he was alright. “Come on, then, we’ve got to hurry.”_

_R2D2 whistled something to C3PO, who responded with “Well, at least you’re still in one piece, look what happened to me!”_

_Your group reached the platform just in time to see the bounty hunter’s ship speeding away._

_“Oh, no, Chewie, they’re behind you!” C3PO shouted, and you all spun around to see a volley of Stormtroopers rushing at you. Leia and Chewie started firing on them whilst Lando sprinted to open the doors to the nearest lift. You ran after him, ushering R2D2 in behind you and a split second later Leia and Chewie followed you. The lift opened on the top floor and your group spilled out, only to run into more Stormtroopers along the way. As Leia and Chewie blasted them, one of their blasters skittered across the floor towards you. You grabbed it and helped them fire as Lando began to punch at the door control._

_“The security code’s been changed!” he reported._

_“R2, you can tell the computer to override the system,” C3PO exclaimed. “Hurry, hurry!”_

_R2D2 rushed to plug into the socket as Lando logged onto the intercom and announced to the whole city that everyone needed to evacuate before more Stormtroopers arrived. You, Leia and Chewie quickly took care of the ones behind you before R2D2 screamed and pulled away from the socket, sparking wildly and beeping indignantly._

_“This way,” Lando said, rushing down the corridor again._

_“Don’t blame me, I’m an interpreter,” C3PO protested to R2D2. “I’m not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal!”_

_Any other time, you would have laughed at that, you reflected, but more Stormtroopers were spilling into the corridor behind you and you were firing at them left, right and centre as you reached the door leading to the Millennium Falcon. R2D2 plugged in again and began beeping to C3PO._

_“We’re not interested in the hyper-drive on the Millennium Falcon!” C3PO snapped. “Just open the door, you stupid lump!” With a beep and whir, R2D2 did just that. “I never doubted you for a second, wonderful!”_

_Together the four of you raced towards the ship as R2D2 created a smoke screen to halt the Stormtroopers for a while, before following you as fast as his wheels could carry him. “Chewie, bend down!” you yelped, seeing that he was having trouble getting onto the Falcon with C3PO on his back, banging his head against the door. Chewie obeyed and you shot past him up the ramp. “Come on, R2, hurry up!”_

_“Go!” Lando yelled to Leia, holding off the Stormtroopers a moment longer before following her. The pair of them raced after you and the second R2D2 was far enough up the ramp to close the door, you did just that. Lando, Chewie and Leia rushed into the cockpit whilst R2D2 took charge of the now dropped C3PO and as the ship fire up, you uttered a sigh of relief._

_It was short lived however, their TIE fighters would soon be on you, you knew that much, unless you made the jump to light-speed soon._

_“Of course I’ve looked better!” C3PO snapped in response to something R2D2 beeped at him. You shook your head to clear the fog that had settled in your mind, and then you remembered something._

_Luke._

_You rushed into the cockpit. “Leia! We have to-!”_

_“We’ve got to go back,” Leia said, suddenly._

_“What?” Lando asked._

_“I know where Luke is,” Leia explained._

_You didn’t ask how she knew, in fact you didn’t even care just as long as you got Luke back safe. “Chewie, turn us around,” you said._

_“But what about Vader?” Lando argued, and then backed off when Chewie growled at him, his meaning something along the lines of “Hey, we’re going back for Luke, got it?” “Alright, alright,” Lando backtracked._

_You held your breath as Chewie turned the ship around back in the direction of Cloud City, soaring the underside of it to avoid detection by Imperial ships. As you drew closer to a bunch of weathervanes, Lando suddenly pointed to one. “Look, someone’s up there.”_

_You gasped. “Luke! He’s hurt!”_

_“Chewie, slow down and we’ll get under him,” Leia instructed, taking charge. “Lando, open the top hatch.” Lando nodded and went to do so. You watched with bated breath as the ship slowly got under Luke and Lando rose up through the hatch to help him. Then, your eyes turned to the cockpit windows and you spotted something coming up on the horizon. Your heart lurched as you realised it was a bunch of TIE Fighters. “Lando?” Leia called into the intercom._

_“Okay, let’s go,” Lando reported back, and Chewie steered the ship away from the city. You rushed to the door of the cockpit as Luke entered, supported by Lando and wrapped in his cloak. He looked like he’d taken another battering, except this time his eyes were searching the place intently, for you. The pair of you flew at one another, Luke flinging an arm around you and holding you close as you nestled against him, your fingers gripping the back of his shirt to keep him close. “(Y/N), (Y/N)...” He whispered your name like a mantra, like it was the sound of freedom and safety. You tightened your hold, knowing now that what you felt was more than love, it was deeper, stronger, truer. You could feel him shaking from the shock of being hurt and you rubbed his back before wondering why he was only holding you with one arm. Then, you glanced down and realised._

_His right hand had been severed._

_“Come on,” you murmured, leading him into the sleeping quarters. Luke kept his arm around your waist, keeping you close even as a sudden blast from the TIE Fighters rocked the ship. You were alright, you were safe, that was all that mattered to him right now._

_You were together again._


	5. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

_You helped Luke onto the nearest cot and after a quick scout around the room discovered the medical kit containing everything you were looking for. Joining the Rebellion in the first place had required training in basic first aid, and that covered even treating severed body parts, so you knew exactly what to do as you wrapped up his arm in a protective cuff to staunch the bleeding. Luke seemed exhausted as you tended to the bruises on his face, which didn’t look so bad once you’d got him settled. Another blast rocked the ship and you looked up towards the doorway, although you couldn’t see anything that was happening beyond the empty corridor._

_“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” you whispered, kissing his cheek before rushing to the door. “What’s happening?”_

_“Star Destroyer,” Leia replied. She and Lando had now switched seats, he was sitting where Han would usually sit. Given that this was his ship first, you supposed he knew what he was doing._

_“Alright, Chewie, ready for light-speed,” Lando reported._

_“If your people fixed the hyper-drive,” Leia added, suspiciously._

_You waited, crossing your fingers and hoping that the stars would suddenly come rushing at you as they always did whenever the Falcon made a jump to light-speed. When nothing happened, again, however, Lando almost lost it._

_“They told me they’d fixed it! I trusted them to fix it! It’s not my fault!”_

_Chewie strode out of the cockpit with a grunt and swept past you into one of the other rooms. You leaned a little out of your doorway to see what he was doing. You could hear C3PO muttering to himself as R2D2 fixed him, before scolding R2D2 about “trusting a strange computer!”_

_“Father?” Luke muttered behind you. You turned to see him sitting up slightly on his cot, murmuring to himself. “Ben, why didn’t you tell me?”_

_“Luke, what is it?” You sat down beside him, hoping he wasn’t delirious again._

_Luke turned to you, his eyes focused again. He looked worried. “(Y/N), I need to tell you something-” He was interrupted by the sound of something sparking in the cockpit and Chewie grunting in frustration elsewhere, and you both turned at the noise. “What’s happening out there?”_

_“We can’t jump to light-speed,” you explained. “And there’s a massive Star Destroyer out there.”_

_Luke clambered off the cot and you helped him steady himself, knowing it would be pointless to try and make him lie down again. Together you went back into the cockpit, passing Lando on the way out. He turned to check Luke was alright before going after Chewie. Luke sat down behind Leia and you stood beside him, watching the looming Star Destroyer getting nearer._

_“It’s Vader,” Luke murmured, grimly. “Ben, why didn’t you tell me?”_

_“R2, come back at once, you haven’t finished with me yet!” You turned to see C3PO standing in the corridor on one leg, brandishing the other in his hand. “You don’t know how to fix the hyper-drive. Chewbacca can do it. I’m standing here in pieces and you’re having delusions of grandeur!”_

_You were about to sit down when the Falcon suddenly jumped to light-speed, sending you sprawling into the available seat anyway. R2D2 yelped as the impact threw him backwards into the pit where Chewie was working._

_“You did it!” C3PO praised._

_Looking up, you saw that the Star Destroyer was gone, you’d lost the Imperials, for now. You breathed out in relief and leaned against Luke’s shoulder, his head dropping onto yours as he took your hand. Your fingers intertwined and remained that way until the Falcon finally reached a Rebel Star Cruiser and Luke had his hand replaced with a prosthetic one by a medical droid, who complimented you on your quick thinking with the protective cuff._

_“If you had left it any longer, this would be a more painful process,” it told you._

_You shrugged. “Just basic Rebel training, that’s all.”_

_Lando and Chewie, meanwhile, were preparing the Falcon to go after the bounty hunter and track down Han. He and Luke had formed a plan to find this Jabba the Hutt the bounty hunter wanted to sell Han’s carbonised form to and somehow infiltrate his lair to get your friend back, and it wasn’t long before they were ready to leave. You glanced at Leia, sensing her worry about Han and her desire to have him back again, and you followed her as she moved to the window._

_“We’ll see him again,” you murmured, wrapping both arms around her shoulders in a hug from the side. “I promise.”_

_Leia nodded and reached up to grasp one of your hands. You leaned against her shoulder as Luke came up to you, his hand now fully functional and working just like his old one had done. His arm came around your shoulders as he stepped closer to you and you leaned your head back against his shoulder as the three of you, along with C3PO and R2D2, stared out of the window, watching the Falcon fly past on its way to find Han. Even after it was gone, you stood staring at the stars, all lost in your own thoughts, until Leia finally patted your hand and moved away from you. You knew she was about to immerse herself in work to try and forget the pain of losing someone she loved, just as you always did._

_Except, since Luke had come into your life you hadn’t done that very much at all._

_Leia walking away left you standing beside Luke with his arm still around your shoulders. You glanced at him and realised he was still lost in his thoughts, although now he looked as though he was contemplating something. Hesitantly, you broke the silence._

_“So, um,” you cleared your throat in what you hoped was a casual way, “what was it you wanted to tell me, earlier?”_

_Luke glanced at the droids and then took you by the hand, leading you into one of the other rooms. You were confused but you didn’t push him until he was ready. Once inside, with the door shut, Luke turned to you and took a deep breath, fixing you with a look that was both worried and serious._

_“When I was fighting Darth Vader, he said something to me...I thought he was lying but now I think he might have been right...” You cocked your head on one side, wondering what he meant. “He’s my father.”_

_Your eyes widened, because you hadn’t been expecting that. “Are-are you sure?” you managed to say when you’d got over the initial shock._

_Luke nodded. “I can sense it’s true...I think. I still don’t know how to control the Force yet.”_

_You shook your head. “But...you’re nothing like him.” Now it was Luke’s turn to look like he hadn’t been expecting the response he got. “I mean, you’re a good person, Luke, reckless, maybe, but you don’t go murdering people or hurting them to get to someone you want to kill.” You shuddered again, still reeling slightly from the torture you’d undergone in Cloud City._

_Luke looked at his feet. “You were only hurt because of me. It’s my fault.”_

_“No, Luke, you couldn’t have known this was going to happen,” you insisted, stepping closer to him. “You’re not a villain like him.”_

_Luke raised his eyes to yours. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I think there’s still some good in him. He couldn’t kill me, he wanted me to join him.”_

_You bit your lip. “Is the Force telling you that?” Luke nodded, watching you carefully. You nodded in turn. “Then I believe maybe there’s some good in him too.” You smiled at his startled expression. “You know I’m here if you ever want to talk about it, right?”_

_Luke just nodded, mutely. You were about to walk past him when suddenly he wrapped you in a tight hug, and, bewildered, you returned it. After a while you realised both your hearts were racing in unison. “(Y/N), I have feelings for you, I have done since the day I met you,” Luke said, suddenly. “And I understand if you don’t feel the same, I just-”_

_“Of course I feel the same,” you interrupted, tightening your grip. “I just didn’t say anything because I thought you just wanted to be friends.”_

_Luke chuckled softly, sounding relieved. “No, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I left.”_

_“Well, I hope that didn’t ruin your training,” you joked, feebly, inwardly reeling from his confession._

_“No.” Luke finally pulled back, his hands still on your waist as he looked down at you. “You make me stronger.”_

_Then his hands were cupping your face and his lips were against yours. You gave a little gasp and gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to you. If you’d had any doubts before that this was love, they were all wiped away now, and you prayed silently that C3PO wasn’t about to walk in and ruin it like he had with Leia and Han. Thankfully, he didn’t, and when you eventually broke apart you were both breathless with eyes shining as you both recovered._

_“Marry me?” You laughed, breathlessly, at his boldness whilst Luke smiled, apologetically. “Sorry, that wasn’t very romantic, was it?”_

_“Luke, we’re at war, we haven’t really got much time for romance,” you pointed out._

_He looked into your eyes. “So? Will you?”_

_You nodded. “Of course I will.”_

_And he kissed you again._

The room falls silent and you’re ripped from your thoughts as Mon Mothma begins to address the room filled with Rebels and droids. You look around, wondering where Luke is, hoping he’s alright, and then reassuring yourself that he’s probably on his way back from Degobah right now and about to walk in through the door any second.

 

“You alright?” Leia murmurs, moving closer to you.

 

You look at her and manage a smile. “Of course. Just wondering where he is, that’s all.” When her attention’s focused on the meeting again, you run a palm down the front of your stomach unconsciously, feeling a squirm of nerves. Now you have two things to tell her, and she’s not going to be happy when she discovers you and Luke got married without telling her.

 

General Madine has now approached the podium and is stating that a strike team is needed to deactivate the shield generator for the second Death Star, which happens to be on the forest moon of Endor.

 

“Wonder who they found to pull that off?” Leia mutters.

 

“General Solo, is your strike team assembled?” Madine asks.

 

You and Leia look at Han in surprise as he clears his throat, awkwardly. “My team is ready, but I don’t have a command crew for the shuttle.” Chewie raises his paw and roars. “Well, it’s gonna be rough, pal, I didn’t want to speak for you,” Han says. Chewie insistently keeps his paw in the air. “That’s one,” Han smiles.

 

“General, count me in,” Leia smiles.

 

“And you do know you can’t have a command crew without a statistical analyst, don’t you?” you add, teasingly.

 

“I’m with you as well.” You turn and leap to your feet as your husband walks into the room, grinning at you, although as far as everyone else is concerned the two of you are only engaged, not married yet. Flinging your arms around him, you let out a breath you didn’t even know you’d been holding as he hugs you tightly, like you’re the most important thing in the galaxy. “I’ve got to tell you something,” he mutters in your ear. “Later.”

 

“Okay,” you whisper, finally releasing him so that Leia can step up and hug him.

 

“What is it?” she asks, sensing something’s up.

 

“Ask me again sometime,” Luke replies, mysteriously, before greeting Han and Chewie, his hand slipping into yours and squeezing gently. You smile, inwardly debating when to tell him he’s about to become a father.

 

_Tattooine was not a planet you had ever visited, but the second you set foot there you were anxious to leave. It was so hot with two suns scorching the landscape and the area you and Lando had established yourself in had exuded an aura of menace even before you began posing as two of Jabba’s guards._

_That in part was largely due to an old friend of a friend of yours back on Coruscant named Jenkin Cass, a rough-and-ready but at the same time honest collector of scavenged clothing, weapons, droid parts, in fact just about anything you could salvage from a wrecked ship or abandoned home. After you’d located him being thrown out of the local inn, Jenkin had taken you back to his storage locker where he’d managed to provide you with two guard uniforms taken from a Hutt ship wreckage on Coruscant three years ago, a bounty hunter outfit for Leia, a dark cloak, shirt and trousers for Luke, a dummy thermal detonator that looked, sounded and acted almost exactly like the real thing (with the exception of actually being able to blow anything up), several blasters in good condition, a few Hutt spears, binders and a slave collar for Chewie and several spare droid parts and a white dress you had admired thrown into the bargain when Lando tried to barter the price down to less credits than he had originally asked for._

_The dress was beautiful, pure white satin, long, flowing, sleeveless with a hood, but you hadn’t been expecting to need something like that. “Call it a gift,” Jenkin had insisted when you tried to protest. But it was only after a Sand People ambush on the Outer Rim Territories (during which the five of you, plus R2D2 and C3PO were lucky to escape with your lives) that you did actually use it, as your wedding dress. After that close call, you and Luke decided that neither of you wanted to wait another second to be married, and so the next evening Luke called on the same priest who had married his aunt and uncle, and who remembered him as a child, to secretly marry the two of you in the same temple, with R2D2 as your witness._

_Luke’s eyes had widened twice their usual size on seeing you in that dress. “You look beautiful,” he had murmured, and you felt a flurry of warmth in the pit of your stomach as you blushed and thanked him._

_Of course, you both knew you couldn’t keep it secret from the others for long, but the whole saving Han from Jabba the Hutt bit got in the way of any time you had to tell them. Naturally, Luke didn’t really like the idea of you disguising yourself as one of Jabba’s guards, even though Lando assured him that he’d be there to make sure you didn’t get hurt, but when you pointed out that it was the only way that you could get onto the prisoner Skiff, and as Lando also pointed out, the only way for a woman to not be caught and used as one of Jabba’s slaves would be to wear a mask or helmet that hid her face, so Luke reluctantly agreed it was for the best. At any rate, you then pointed out that you weren’t happy with Luke risking himself with the Rancor and the Sarlaac, even though he reassured you he’d get out of both of those scenarios alive._

_“You’d better,” you muttered. “I don’t want to lose anyone else I care about.”_

_“Trust me,” Luke murmured, kissing you with a smile._

_The plan was a long, but well thought out, one. After integrating yourselves into Jabba’s guards, you and Lando had to wait a while for the action to kick off. Luckily, being that you were guards and masked, no one really took much notice of you and you therefore avoided being revealed for what you were to Jabba. Using the information you’d already secretly gleaned from Jabba’s lair, you quickly learned your way around the place and reported any new occurrences back to Luke, Leia and Chewie. After a few days, C3PO and R2D2 turned up with Luke’s message to Jabba, bartering for Han’s freedom. You had to stifle a giggle as C3PO freaked out upon learning that he and R2D2 were being offered as gifts to Jabba in exchange for Han. Of course, Luke knew that Jabba would refuse, but this was all part of the plan to get R2D2 onto Jabba’s barge when it came time to go to the Sarlaac pit._

_Later you got to witness firsthand how cruel Jabba was when he dropped his Twi’lek slave girl into the Rancor pit after she refused to go to him when he wanted her to, clearly after her to do something more than just dance for him. Automatically, you rushed forwards, wanting to help, but Lando grabbed your arm to keep you back. Luckily anyone who noticed just assumed you were eager to see the Rancor eat the girl. You shuddered._

_“Keep it together, (Y/N),” Lando muttered. “We can’t blow our cover.”_

_You shook your head. “I know, but it’s not fair. He shouldn’t be allowed to do that to people.”_

_“Well he won’t anymore if Luke’s plan comes off the way we want it to,” Lando reminded you._

_You nodded, praying that the girl would be the last person the Rancor would ever feed on. Barely had it finished devouring her, a gunshot near the entrance startled everyone in the room and then a disguised Leia dragging a chained Chewie entered the room._

_“I have come for the bounty on this Wookie,” she said, in Ubese._

_“Oh, no, Chewbacca!” C3PO, who hadn’t been informed of the plan just in case he accidently let something slip, exclaimed as Chewie made a pitiful grunt at him._

_“At last we have the mighty Chewbacca!” Jabba proclaimed, beckoning C3PO forwards to translate the rest of his dialogue._

_“The illustrious Jabba bids you welcome,” C3PO translated, “and will gladly pay you the reward of twenty five thousand.”_

_“I want fifty thousand, no less,” Leia replied in Ubese._

_“Fifty thousand, no less,” C3PO translated to Jabba, who immediately flew into a rage and knocked the poor droid off his feet. “Oh, what did I say?” C3PO moaned in confusion, composing himself. “The mighty Jabba asks why he must pay fifty thousand.” Leia made her reply in Ubese and drew out the dummy detonator, which of course, C3PO naturally assumed was real. “Because he’s holding a thermal detonator!”_

_Jabba merely chuckled and muttered something about liking this bounty hunter before again speaking to C3PO, who translated “Jabba offers the sum of thirty five, and I do suggest you take it.” There was a pause before Leia switched off the detonator. “He agrees!” C3PO shouted in relief. Around you the crowd erupted into cheers and you quickly stepped forwards to lead Chewbacca to a cell, playing your part brilliantly until you were alone together._

_“Well done, Chewie,” you whispered. “I know you don’t like being locked up like this, but it’s just until Luke gets here, alright?” Chewie growled in agreement. You pushed him gently into a cell and unlocked his binders before patting his arm and leaving him to go back to Jabba’s main room._

_“Chewie alright?” Lando muttered to you._

_“He’s fine,” you muttered back. “Just a little disgruntled but he’s alright.”_

_The party kept up well into the night, and you and Lando, tired out by the events, fell asleep, against your better judgements. When you woke, it was because Jabba’s second-in-command Bib Fortuna was shaking you. You blinked and sat up, Lando following suit as you realised that you were hearing Leia’s attempt to rescue Han going on beyond the curtain. You and Lando exchanged a glance, both wanting to yell out to them to run, but it was too late. The curtain came up, revealing they had been caught._

_“Hey, Jabba.” Han turned around, his voice shaking and you realised he had some kind of hibernation sickness. “Look, Jabba, I was just on my way to pay you back but I got a little sidetracked. It’s not my fault.”_

_Jabba just growled back that it was too late for apologies and excuses and for you to take him away. You grabbed his arm before any other guards could get to him and dragged him out of the room, even as Han shouted that Jabba was a fool for making you do so._

_“Han, it’s me!” you hissed the second you were alone together._

_“(Y/N)?” Han blinked, blearily. “What are you doing here?”_

_“Relax, we’ve got a plan,” you insisted, pushing him inside Chewie’s cell. “Chewie’ll explain. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to Leia.”_

_You locked the door and hurried back to Jabba, praying for Luke to hurry up and get there. Somehow everything always felt more hopeful whenever he was around. Of course it was morning by the time he walked into the lair, subtly subduing the guards who rushed at him as he walked through the door, by which time Leia had already been made Jabba’s new slave girl. You raised your head at the sound of your husband’s voice and felt a twinge of relief you had to force yourself not to put into words._

_“At last, Master Luke’s come to rescue me!” C3PO cried._

_You got to your feet as Bib awoke Jabba, Luke making the briefest of eye contact with you as you did so before turning to speak to Jabba. You gripped your spear firmly just in case anything happened that meant you needed to fight your way out. Angrily, Jabba shoved Bib away from him, snapping that he had been told not to admit Luke._

_“I must be allowed to speak,” Luke insisted, which Bib repeated to Jabba in Huttese. Jabba snapped back at him that Luke was using an old Jedi mind trick on him. “You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookie to me,” Luke added. Jabba just chuckle and responded that Jedi mind tricks didn’t work on him, which of course, Luke knew, you knew he did, all this was a ploy to lure Jabba into thinking he’d won and then defeat him when he least expected it. Still, you tensed up when Luke walked onto the cover of the Rancor pit. “Nevertheless, I’m taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this or be destroyed. It’s your choice but I warn you not to underestimate my powers.”_

_“Master Luke, you’re standing on-!” C3PO tried to warn him._

_“There will be no bargain, young Jedi,” Jabba replied in Huttese. “I shall enjoy watching you die.”_

_Luke used the Force to pull a blaster into his hand. You leapt forwards, trying to play your part as instructed but another guard rushed at Luke and you misjudged your steps. The floor fell from under the three of you and you all landed down in the sandy pit that was the Rancor’s lair. Leia gasped and Lando looked stunned as he pretended to restrain her._

_As you hit the ground, the guard immediately leapt up and began squealing for help. “(Y/N), you weren’t meant to be down here!” Luke hissed._

_“I wouldn’t have been if that thing-!” you gestured to the guard and then froze as the door at the side of the pit began to rumble open._

_“Oh no, the Rancor!” C3PO exclaimed, panicked._

_You and Luke scrambled to your feet as the large beast enters the pit and immediately makes for the guard, who was now trying to scramble up the side of the pit to get out of it. You winced as the Rancor snatched it up and devoured it whole. Above you, the crowd cheered, and you felt a sudden wave of nausea that you had a hard time keeping down. Having finished its feed, the Rancor then turned towards the pair of you. You raised your spear whilst Luke grabbed a bone from the floor. The Rancor hesitated, sizing you up, before deciding it wanted to eat Luke first and snatching him up. You had to bite back a yelp as it opened its mouth but Luke shoved the bone inside, causing it to drop him as it struggled to dislodge the thing. Luke dived to the ground and you followed, the pair of you sliding beneath the gap between rock wall and floor._

_“What now?” you whispered._

_“I’m going to try to get to the door control,” Luke muttered back._

_With a terrible crunch, the Rancor finally got rid of the bone and then reached down for you. You jabbed at its fingers with the spear and made a hit, although that just made it angry as it reached down again. Luke grabbed a rock and smashed at its fingers, buying just enough time to wriggle out from beneath the rocks. You made another stab at it with the spear but this time it grabbed the spear and yanked you out from the crevice. Before you had time to get to your feet, it grabbed you around the waist with one hand and raised you into the air._

_Luke spun around. “(Y/N)!”_

_You were still armed, however, and so you jabbed the spear tip into its eye. With a roar of pain, the Rancor dropped you and you stumbled back onto your backside as it turned its good eye to Luke and noticed him seemingly cornered in the cave it usually resided in. You shot him a worried look but Luke didn’t look concerned as it came lumbering towards him and bent down to get under the gate. Snatching a skull from the floor, Luke flung it at the door control and the door came down on the Rancor with a dull thunk, killing it instantly._

_Above you, the howling laughter and cheering ceased as Jabba realised his pet, and favourite executioner, was dead. You, on the other hand, were feeling more nauseated than ever and you couldn’t hold it back any longer. Turning and crouching so your face was hidden, you raised the masked part of your helmet and threw up, trying to be as ladylike about it as possible. As the gate was raised and guards ran in to check whether the Rancor was really dead, you lowered your mask and turned to see Luke watching you in concern. You got to your feet and hurried over the dead beast to him as two other guards rushed over and put binders on him. You grabbed his arm and pretended to haul him out of the cell and towards Jabba, both of you itching to ask if the other was alright but unable to with other people around._

_As you entered the room, Han and Chewie were being dragged in. Han greeted Luke by asking how everything was going, and when Luke responded “Same as always,” Han replied with “That bad, huh?”_

_“His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt,” C3PO informed you, “has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately.”_

_“Good, I hate long waits,” Han muttered, sarcastically._

_“You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlaac,” C3PO went on._

_“Doesn’t sound so bad,” Han muttered to the two of you._

_“In his belly you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years,” C3PO finished, pitifully._

_“On second thoughts, let’s pass on that,” Han said._

_Luke just grinned. “You should have bargained, Jabba. That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.”_

_You hurried alongside them as several of Jabba’s guards, including Lando, led the prisoners to the Skiff as Jabba and his party, Leia included, trooped onto his abnormally large barge. You stood close to Luke as Lando stood beside Han and Chewie, awaiting the inevitable moment when the Skiff would pull up alongside the Sarlaac pit._

_“Think my eyes are getting better,” Han said, suddenly. “Instead of a big dark blur I see a big light blur.”_

_“There’s nothing to see,” Luke replied. “I used to live here, you know.”_

_“You’re gonna die here, you know,” Han pointed out. “Convenient.”_

_“Just stick close to Chewie and Lando,” Luke muttered. “I’ve taken care of everything.”_

_“Oh...great,” Han muttered._

_You shot him a look, tempted to nudge him with your spear for his cheek but abruptly the Skiff pulled up, facing Jabba’s barge, which had also stopped. Leaning over the side of the Skiff you saw the pit ringed with rows of needle sharp teeth belonging to the Sarlaac. If any of you fell, you’d stand a miniscule chance of not being eaten. Suddenly the Rancor didn’t seem quite such a scary foe anymore._

_“Victims of the almighty Sarlaac,” C3PO called from the barge, “his Excellency hopes that you will die honourably. But should any of you wish to beg for mercy, the great Jabba the Hutt will now hear your pleas.”_

_“3PO, you tell that slimy piece of worm-ridden filth, he’ll get no such pleasure from us!” Han shouted back, adding to Chewie “Right?”_

_“Jabba, this is your last chance,” Luke called. “Free us, or die!”_

_Behind Han and Chewie, Lando moved closer to the guards at the back of the Skiff. He shot you a conspiratorial look and you nodded slightly, moving to remove Luke’s bindings. Unobserved by anyone else, Luke winked at you and you smiled._

_“Put him in,” Jabba ordered in Huttese._

_You made a show of prodding Luke along the platform that had been set over the mouth of the waiting Sarlaac. Glancing up at the barge, Luke saluted to R2D2, who opened a flap atop his domed head, preparing for the opportune moment. You stepped back, spear ready. Luke jumped, turned in mid-air, grabbed the end of the platform and spun himself back onto the Skiff, taking everyone else by surprise. R2D2 shot his lightsaber into the air and Luke caught it with the Force. You threw your helmet to the ground to free your vision as you lunged at the other guards. Lando did the same whilst Luke began to slice at them with his lightsaber. Together you sent most of them toppling over the side of the ship, a few unlucky ones sliding into the mouth of the Sarlaac._

_“Easy, Chewie,” Luke muttered, unbinding the Wookie, who was roaring eagerly to help. You untied Han whilst on Jabba’s ship the deck gunmen began to fire on the Skiff. A second later, Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who’d captured Han in the first place, launched himself from the barge and aimed his blaster at Luke. Thankfully it was no match for a lightsaber but it caused you to drop your spear and retrieve your own blaster from your holster, firing back at the men who were firing from Jabba’s ship. You hit many of them, knocking a few down into the pit and sending the others launched backwards onto the deck, howling in pain._

_“Help!” You looked down and saw that in throwing one guard down into the pit, Lando had also fallen and was dangling from some cables at the bottom of the Skiff. At the same time, Chewie leapt on Han to save him from the barge’s blaster fire and made a groan of pain. You spun around, as did Luke, distracted by the noise, and Boba Fett took advantage of this, firing a cable out of a secret gadget up his sleeve to bind Luke. You reacted quickly, blasting the end of the cable to sever it. Luke wriggled free._

_“Thanks, honey,” he said, smiling._

_You blushed before rushing to help Chewie. He wasn’t badly injured, the blast had just hit him in the arm. Another blast from the barge’s deck gun missed Luke by inches and knocked Boba Fett onto the deck of the Skiff. Luke promptly jumped onto the second Skiff as it drew level with yours and began decimating the guards there whilst you leaned over to see Lando struggling to get back up._

_“Hold on, Lando, we’ll get you up,” you called, not seeing Boba Fett struggling to his feet and aiming his weapon at Luke on the other Skiff. But you did notice Chewie growling to get your and Han’s attention, and Han, armed with your discarded spear, say in reply “Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?” He spun around, hit Boba Fett with the spear and accidently triggered off his rocket launcher. Boba Fett flew off the Skiff, hit the side of the barge and landed in the pit, shooting down past Lando and into the Sarlaac’s mouth. You grimaced as the Sarlaac burped in what sounded like satisfaction. Ignoring what had just happened, Han leaned over the Skiff to try and help Lando but lost his footing. You and Chewie quickly grabbed him by the legs, Chewie growling in both fear and relief._

_“Grab it, Lando, grab it!” Han shouted, extending the spear._

_Luke, meanwhile, had finished with the guards on the second Skiff and had seen that the deck gun was still firing down on you, Han, Lando and Chewie. He leapt quickly for the side of the barge and, seeing it, you yelped before he grabbed a part of the ship that was sticking out. A hatch opened beside him as someone swung an axe his way, but he was able to knock the guard into the pit and continue his climb upwards. Lando, meanwhile, was now slipping further down towards the Sarlaac pit as Han attempted to give him the end of the spear. Suddenly a tentacle grabbed his ankle and started to drag him downwards._

_“Chewie, Chewie, give me the gun!” Han shouted. You held onto his legs firmly as Chewie handed him the blaster and aimed it at the tentacle. “Don’t move, Lando!”_

_“No, wait, I thought you were blind!” Lando yelped._

_“It’s alright, I can see a lot better now,” Han tried to reassure him._

_“Higher!” you cried as he aimed the gun almost right at Lando._

_“A little higher, just a little higher!” Lando added, watching Han warily._

_Han shot a blast and it hit the tentacle. With a pained wail, the Sarlaac released Lando and he scrambled up to grab the end of the spear. “Chewie, (Y/N), pull us up!” Han shouted. You did so and once they were back on their feet aboard the Skiff, you looked up to see where Luke had got to. He was now aboard the barge, taking on the remaining guards. Suddenly Leia and the droids appeared amid the confusion._

_“Get the gun!” Luke shouted to her. “Point it at the deck!”_

_Leia ran to do so whilst C3PO and R2D2 hurried to the side of the barge. One of the guards blasted the hand Luke was holding his lightsaber with and he yelped before realising it was his prosthetic hand and therefore still useful._

_“R2, where are we going?” asked C3PO. “I can’t possibly jump-”_

_You tried not to laugh as R2D2 butted him over the side and then dropped after him with a little whistle. Leia had now brought the gun around to point at the deck. Luke grabbed a loose rope from the barge’s mast and held out an arm for her. He kicked the trigger of the gun and together they swung over to the Skiff._

_“Let’s go,” he said to Lando, “and don’t forget the droids.”_

_“We’re on our way,” Lando grinned._

_As the barge exploded bit by bit, he steered the ship over to where C3PO’s legs and R2D2’s periscope were sticking up out of the sand dunes. Magnets extended from the Skiff to pull them out and then with a great sweep of sand around your group, you made good your escape. Barely had you tossed aside your blaster, then Luke took three quick steps towards you, pulled you into his arms and hugged you tightly. Naturally, even half-blind, Han noticed the romantic gesture, and had to be informed of your engagement by Leia and Lando, in hushed voices._

_And then, almost the instant you got back to base, Luke had to leave. You understood, though. It had been a year since he left Yoda and abandoned his training to rescue you on Cloud City, and he needed to show the old Jedi Master that he hadn’t forgotten his promise to return._

_“Hurry,” Leia said to him through the intercom on the Falcon. “The Alliance should be assembled by now.”_

_“I will,” Luke replied._

_“Hey, Luke, thanks,” Han added, taking the com-link from Leia. “Thanks for coming after me. I owe you one now.”_

_You took the com-link and wandered away from the others to talk privately with your husband. “Luke, are you alright?”_

_“Yeah.” Luke took a deep breath. “If anyone will know the truth, Yoda will.”_

_“And you’re sure you want to know?”_

_“I have to.”_

_You smiled. “You know I still want to be with you even if it is true, right?”_

_“I know.” Luke hesitated. “Thanks, (Y/N). I’ll see you when I get back.”_

_“Just don’t be too long,” you whispered, giggling as R2D2 whistled a goodbye into the intercom before you clicked the thing off._

Which brings you back to here and now; _(Y/N) (Y/L/N),_ now _(Y/N)_ Skywalker, hiding one secret from your husband and another from the rest of the Rebel Alliance.


	6. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

You dress carefully in your assigned clothing for the mission to Endor, conscious of any movements you could make that might potentially hurt the baby. Then you remind yourself that your child is only the size of a peanut now and better protected from anything than it would be when you got bigger. The only thing you really have to worry about is blaster fire or someone stabbing you in the stomach, and luckily you’d all been assigned blast-proof vests underneath your clothes, same as the strike team, so you relax and finish dressing with ease. You’re just grabbing your protective helmet when your door opens and Luke walks in. Without a word you both fly at each other and kiss passionately, both of you feeling deprived after not being able to do so on Tattooine.

 

“Hey,” Luke finally whispers as you break apart, smiling at you.

 

“Hey,” you whisper back, reaching up to kiss him again before asking “So...what happened?”

 

Luke’s shoulders drop as he looks at his feet. “Master Yoda died. But he said he didn’t have anything left to teach me.”

 

“So, you _are_ a Jedi?”

 

“Not yet. He and Ben say I have to face Vader again for that to happen.”

 

You hesitate, feeling you already know the answer. “And...is he..?”

 

Luke nods and then sighs. “I can’t do it, _(Y/N)._ I can’t kill him.”

 

You stare at him. “They actually said you have to? Can’t you just...I don’t know, subdue him until we’ve destroyed the new Death Star or something?”

 

Luke shrugs. “They expect me to kill him, but I can’t. There’s still good in him, _(Y/N),_ I can feel it.”

 

You bite your lip. “On the other hand...what if he kills you?”

 

Luke finally meets your eyes, his own blue ones reassuring. “Then I’ll know I at least tried to bring him back to the Light. But I’m planning on coming back to you alive.”

 

You manage a smile. “You’d better. I don’t want to have to start planning your funeral after only five months of marriage.”

 

Luke laughs for the first time and pulls you into a hug. “I promise. I’ll come back to you.”

 

You cling to him, deciding there and then to only tell him the news of your pregnancy after he does come back. It wouldn’t be fair to send him off to fight with his father with that hanging over him, and besides which it’ll be some good news for him when he does come back. And, you note with a slight twinge of worry, if somehow he didn’t come back, it would be awful to build up his hopes of becoming a father only for him to never get to be in the end. Still, you note as he strokes your hair gently with his prosthetic hand, there’s one secret the two of you can’t hide any longer.

 

You take a deep breath but then Luke says “Ben told me something else as well.”

 

You frown, wondering what else the old Jedi Master could have possibly hidden from Luke. “Something bad?”

 

“No.” Luke hugs you a little tighter. “He said that when I was born, I was hidden from the Emperor to keep me safe...and so was my twin sister.”

 

Your eyes widen. “You have a sister?”

 

“It’s Leia.”

 

You pull away slightly to look into his eyes and see that he’s not joking. Your agape mouth is quickly replaced by a smile, of relief, as you say “Well, that does actually explain a lot. Leia was able to sense where you were back on Cloud City. Isn’t it a bit of a cliché, though, marrying your sister’s best friend?” Luke chuckles, visibly relaxing at your reaction to the news. You suppose that deep, deep down you had always been a tiny bit jealous of the fact Leia and Luke seemed so close, despite Luke always being visibly attracted to you, but it doesn’t matter now. “We need to tell them,” you murmur, sighing. “It’s not fair to keep them thinking they’ll all be coming to our wedding any longer.”

 

“I know,” Luke agrees, softly. “But,” and you can hear a smile in his voice as he says it, “it was kind of fun keeping it to ourselves for a while.”

 

You smile too, looking up at him. “Yeah, it was. Are you ready?”

 

Luke nods and leans down to kiss you one more time. “I love you, _(Y/N).”_

It’s the first time either of you have said it. Naturally you’ve admitted your feelings for each other in numerous ways numerous times; your looks, your gentle touches, your concerns for one another, but it’s the first time either of you have ever actually said those three words – I Love You – out loud.

 

“I love you too, Luke,” you say, trying not to feel too emotional. It’s the hormones, you know, the feeling of being completely at ease in that moment, married to a man who really loves you and expecting your first child...even in the heat of war, there’s light and hope.

 

You pick up your helmets and leave the room hand in hand, prepared to face the music at last. On the landing strip, the Millennium Falcon stands proudly but you both bypass her for the stolen Imperial Shuttle that’s going to transport you to Endor. Lando and Han are talking together with Leia and Chewie standing close by, and C3PO and R2D2 waiting at the ship’s ramp.

 

“I got your promise now,” Han’s saying as you come up. “Not a scratch.”

 

“Would you get going, you pirate?” Lando laughs. He turns and nods at the two of you. “I guess I’ll see you all when we get back.”

 

“Well, actually, before you go,” Luke says, quickly, before anyone can turn to leave, “we’ve got something we should tell you all.”

 

You had expected this to be easy, like ripping off a bacta patch, quick and painless, but when everyone turns to you curiously, Chewie giving a growl that can probably be translated at “What is it?” you realise just how hard this is actually going to be to say. Oh, wow, how are they going to react when you tell them you’re pregnant too? You take a deep breath and say quickly enough to get all your words out, but not so quickly that you have to repeat yourself, “We got married.”

 

Of course everyone stares at you as though you’ve just grown three heads. “What?” Leia exclaims, sounding both surprised and pleased. Chewie groans loudly, sounding annoyed. R2D2 beeps and whistles as C3PO turns to him.

 

“What do you mean you knew already?” R2D2 beeps again. “And you didn’t think to tell _me?”_

Han blinks. “I’m out of it for a year, what else did I miss?”

 

Luke smiles, squeezing your hand. “We just didn’t want to wait any longer, especially after that attack in the Outer Rim.”

 

You nod as Chewie growls as if in agreement, and then glance at Leia, offering her an apologetic smile. “Forgive us?”

 

Leia shakes her head in disbelief and then hugs you.

 

“Well, then, may I be the first to say “Congratulations,” Lando says, shaking Luke’s hand, “and here’s hoping we all get out of this war to see you off on your honeymoon.”

 

“Thanks, Lando,” Luke replies.

 

You smile as Leia pulls away, still looking a little startled by your confession, but happy. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, _(Y/N),_ you’re hopeless at keeping secrets!”

 

Chewie laughs. You pretend to be offended but smile to yourself, wondering how she’ll react when you tell her you’re pregnant. C3PO is still offended that R2D2 knew about it and didn’t tell him.

 

Still feeling happy, you say goodbye to Lando and board the shuttle, which is small and cramped compared to the spacious luxury of the Millennium Falcon. You thank all the gods that you’re no more pregnant than a month just yet, otherwise you would be seriously squashed in your seat to make room for the baby too.

 

“No, I don’t think the Empire had Wookies in mind when they designed her, Chewie,” Han replies in response to Chewie’s grunt of irritation. You buckle up, Luke beside you and Leia on his other side, whilst Han looks wistfully over at the Falcon. You know what he’s thinking, before he even says it, that he feels like he’s never going to see that faithful ship again, but with some encouragement from Leia, he and Chewie quickly fire up the shuttle. The journey towards Endor doesn’t take very long, although there’s a painful moment where you all think that the Imperial Controller aboard the new Death Star isn’t going to accept the code Han gives him and you’ll all be slaughtered.

 

“Vader’s on that ship,” Luke murmurs, suddenly, grabbing your hand.

 

“Now, don’t get jittery, Luke, there are a lot of command ships,” Han advises. “Keep your distance, though, Chewie, but don’t look like you’re keeping your distance. “Chewie roared. “I don’t know, fly casual!”

 

You giggle in spite of being wary.

 

“I’m endangering the mission, I shouldn’t have come,” Luke murmurs.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Luke, we need you,” you say.

 

“Yeah, it’s your imagination, kid,” Han insists. “Come on, let’s keep a little optimism here.”

 

At any rate, the Empire accepts your code and with a smug grin Han steers the shuttle towards Endor. As you unbuckle, you get up quickly and feel another rush of nausea. You stop and take a deep breath, waiting for it to pass. Of course, Luke notices.

 

 _“(Y/N),_ are you alright?” he asks, worriedly. Of course then, the others all look over at you in alarm. Chewie roars in concern.

 

“Yeah, just got up too quickly,” you brush off, picking up your helmet. “I’m fine. Shall we go?”

 

The seven of you make your way outside, meeting Han’s strike team halfway, and make your way towards where the shield generator is located. However, it looks like the Empire have left nothing to chance, posting their own Imperial scouts all around the base of the generator.

 

“Shall we try to go around?” Leia whispers as your party crouches, watching the two Imperials you just came upon. Thankfully they haven’t seen you yet.

 

“It’ll take time,” Luke murmurs.

 

“This whole party’ll be for nothing if they see us,” Han mutters.

 

You make a quick calculation. “Luke’s right, it’d be quicker to take them down now rather than risk going around.”

 

“Chewie and I’ll take care of this,” Han decides, “you stay here.”

 

“Quietly,” Luke hisses, “there might be more of them out there.”

 

“Hey.” Han grins, cockily. “It’s me.”

 

The three of you exchange smiles as Han and Chewie make their way quietly up to the Imperial scouts, sneaking up on them without them noticing...until a twig snaps under Han’s foot and they both spin around.

 

“Go for help, go!” one shouts to the other, slamming Han into a tree. The other scout runs towards a speeder bike and takes off, but Chewie, quick as ever with his crossbow, takes him out with one blast. Han and the first scout begin to scuffle as you, Luke and Leia emerge from your hiding place and Leia spots two more taking off on their bikes. She and Luke run up to the remaining speeder bike whilst you run to help Han and Chewie. As Han gets knocked to the ground again, you leap onto the scout’s back and knock him to his knees as he tries to fight you off. Chewie takes the opportunity to knock him out with his crossbow and you grin.

 

“Nice work, Chewie.” You take his proffered paw and get to your feet, rubbing your eyes. That quick fight has tired you out, although only you know why.

 

Saved from being revealed to the Empire, for now, your group sits and waits, you and Han adamant that you’re not going anywhere until Luke and Leia get back. R2D2 scans the area before finally bleeping to C3PO.

 

“Oh! General Solo, somebody’s coming!” C3PO reports.

 

You look up and see Luke hurrying towards you. “Luke!” You scrabble to your feet and hug him tightly.

 

“Luke!” Han grins and then his face falls. “Where’s Leia?”

 

Luke looks surprised. “What, she didn’t come back?”

 

“I thought she was with you.”

 

“We got separated. Hey, we’d better look for her.” You nod, equally as worried, as Han gives instructions to the remainder of the team to wait for them. “Come on, R2, we’ll need your scanners.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry, Master Luke, we know what to do,” C3PO calls, before snapping to R2D2, “And _you_ said it was _pretty_ here!”

 

It soon becomes apparent that traversing the forest of Endor is no easy feat, what with all the thick foliage and uneven ground. You stick close to Luke, trying not to trip, although you’re also trying very hard to focus on not falling asleep on your feet, so it proves extremely difficult. After a while, you’re just about to request a break from all the walking, when Luke suddenly lets go of your hand and moves towards something a little way away.

 

“What is it?” you ask, your hand automatically going to your blaster.

 

“There’s two wrecked speeders here,” Luke reports.

 

You step up to look but then your foot connects with something that doesn’t feel like a rock. You look down and then pick up the helmet, which can only belong to Leia. Luke takes it from you, looking suddenly concerned and you meet his gaze with your own worried expression.

 

“Luke, _(Y/N)!”_ Together you rush over to Han, who’s looking over the wreckage of an Imperial speeder bike.

 

“There’s two more wrecked speeders back there, and we found this,” Luke adds, showing him Leia’s helmet.

 

“I’m afraid R2’s sensors can find no trace of Princess Leia,” C3PO reports, sorrowfully.

 

“I hope she’s alright,” Han murmurs.

 

Chewie suddenly sniffs the air and without warning, lunges to his feet with a bark. “What is it, Chewie?” you ask.

 

 _“What,_ Chewie?” Han adds when Chewie ignores you and pushes off through the undergrowth. The five of you follow him but you come up short as Chewie stops in front of what looks like an animal impaled on a tree. The awful smell makes you feel sick, and you’re not entirely sure being around something dead is a good idea in your condition, so you keep your distance as the others gather around it. “Hey, I don’t get it,” Han comments, glancing at Luke. Chewie growls. “Nah, it’s just some dead animal, Chewie.”

 

Chewie reaches for the meat.

 

“Chewie, wait, don’t-!” Luke yells, rushing to stop him.

 

Too late.

 

**Sproing!**

Your jaw drops as your husband and friends are suddenly dangling at least seven feet above your head in a large, thick net.

 

“Nice work!” Han snaps, sarcastically. Chewie roars, regretfully as R2D2 bleeps wildly. “Great, Chewie, great! Always thinking with your stomach!”

 

“Is everyone alright?” you call up.

 

“Fine, apart from being crushed in here!” Han replies, his sarcasm ever present.

 

“Will you take it easy?” Luke snaps. “Let’s just figure out a way out of this thing. Han, can you reach my lightsaber?”

 

“Yeah, sure,” Han grunts, attempting to do so. The net swings around with each movement he makes and you try not to laugh, because if it weren’t for the fact that Leia’s missing and none of you have the faintest idea how to lower the net, the situation would be quite funny.

 

“R2, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” C3PO advises. “It’s a very long DROP!”

 

You jump back as R2D2 successfully cuts through the net and everyone is deposited at your feet. Luke looks up and meets your eyes with a sheepish expression. You shake your head with a smile. Before you can move to help him up, however, small, furry creatures begin to emerge from the undergrowth around you, armed with spears. R2D2 begins to whimper whilst Luke and Han just look bemused by their appearance. You know these must be Ewoks, the primitive but fierce little creatures that inhabit this moon. Han goes to sit up but one of the Ewoks, clearly the leader, jabs his spear at him.

 

“Hey!” Han grabs the end of the spear. “Point that thing someplace else!” You flinch as the Ewok jabs the spear at him again. “Hey!”

 

“Han, don’t,” Luke advises, stopping him from pulling the spear out of the Ewok’s hand. “It’ll be alright.” He hands one of the Ewoks his blaster. “Chewie, give them your crossbow.” Chewie roars, reluctantly, but does so. You pass your blaster along to the Ewoks as C3PO suddenly sits up, moaning “Oh, my head!”

 

The Ewoks immediately begin bowing, and it soon becomes clear that they think that C3PO is some sort of god. Given that they’ve probably never seen a droid like him before, you can’t blame them, you suppose. When Han loses his temper, however, the Ewoks quickly decide that the four of you, and R2D2, are too dangerous to be let loose and then next thing you know you’re all tied up and being dragged back to what you can only assume is their main base high up in the trees.

 

“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Han mutters as you’re finally all propped up around the ashes of a fire.

 

“3PO, what’s he saying?” you ask, seeing the Ewok shaman conferring with C3PO.

 

“I’m rather embarrassed, Miss _(Y/N),_ but it appears that you are to be the main course of a banquet in my honour,” C3PO apologises.

 

You exchange a worried glance with Luke whilst Chewie and R2D2 growl and beep in alarm. Then, Leia appears, her camouflage clothing replaced with an animal-skin dress and her hair loose, looking like a princess again.

 

“Leia!” you all call out as she starts towards you but the Ewoks hold her back.

 

“But these are my friends,” she tells them. “3PO, tell them they must be set free.”

 

C3PO does so, at least you assume he does, given that you don’t speak Ewok, but the Ewoks ignore him and continue piling wood onto the fire. You struggle against your bonds, trying to wriggle free, although Luke remains calm, which can only mean he has a plan to get out of this.

 

“Somehow I got the feeling that that didn’t help us very much,” Han growls.

 

“3PO, tell them that if they don’t do as you say, you’ll become angry and use your magic,” Luke says.

 

“But Master Luke, _what_ magic? I couldn’t possibly-!”

 

“Just tell them.”

 

You frown as C3PO repeats the message in Ewok, and then despairs as the Ewoks come closer to the four of you with lit torches. “You see, Master Luke, they didn’t believe me, just as I said they wouldn’t!”

 

Han chuckles and then tries blowing out the torches. Luke closes his eyes. You want to ask what he’s doing but at the same time you don’t want to interrupt him and then C3PO suddenly yells out. You look around to see his chair floating above the Ewoks, who are now chattering loudly in a panic. Luke opens his eyes and you smile in relief as the Ewoks now run to cut you free. Chewie growls in appreciation. You and Luke hug in relief before running up to join Han and Leia. R2D2 begins zapping the Ewok shaman the second he’s free, making you giggle.

 

“Thanks, 3PO,” Luke smiles.

 

“Never knew I had it in me,” the now grounded droid murmurs.

 

Now willing to hear your story, the Ewoks lead your group to where their council of elders is meeting and C3PO relates the tale of how you came to be on Endor, in Ewok language. Halfway through the tale, however, you feel another bout of nausea come on, this one stronger than before. Quietly you escape out onto one of the platforms and throw up over the railing, hoping there were no Ewoks walking along below you when you did.

 

“Sorry, down there,” you mutter just in case, before reaching for one of the sickness capsules you sneaked from the first aid kit before boarding the shuttle. They’re designed to stem the feeling of nausea for a while and also take the taste away. You wash it down quickly with some water, shuddering a little as the coldness of it takes you by surprise.

 

 _“(Y/N)!”_ You look up as Luke hurries up to you, looking worried. “Are you alright? Are you sick?” He talks so quickly you can barely get a word in edgeways as he feels your forehead. “I’ll have R2 look you over-”

 

“Luke,” you try to interrupt.

 

“Is it something here making you ill?”

 

“No, Luke!” You grab his arms to get him to shut up. “I’m not sick.” Luke watches you, his expression flickering between concerned and curious. You sigh. “This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

 

Luke frowns. “Find out what?”

 

You look him in the eyes. “I’m pregnant.”

 

“What?” Luke’s eyes widen in delight. _“(Y/N),_ that’s wonderful!”

 

You smile as he hugs you tightly, kissing the side of your head. “Yeah, but I wanted to tell you when you got back, not before. I didn’t want this hanging over you.”

 

“I’m going to be a father,” Luke beams proudly, holding you out.

 

“Well, yes, that’s generally what it means when your wife gets pregnant,” you laugh as he kisses you. Your smile fades as you remember he’s got to leave soon and you sigh. “That’s why you’ve got to come back to me – us.”

 

Luke adopts a serious expression. “I promise.” You look at your feet, this not being what you wanted, to burden him with the responsibility, the need, to stay alive. Then Luke lifts your chin and kisses you. You cling to him, praying it won’t be the last time you get to do so. Oddly, though, you don’t feel the urge to cry, like you thought you would. Instead, you feel hopeful; the knowledge that Obi-Wan and Yoda both believe Luke’s ready, and able, to do this giving you hope that he’ll come through. “I love you so much.”

 

“I love you too,” you whisper back. “And I don’t care if this time you come back with all your limbs missing-” Luke laughs, softly. “Just come back.”

 

“I’m planning to.” Luke kisses you one more time before murmuring “It’s getting kind of cold out here, maybe you two should go in.”

 

You nod. “Good luck,” you murmur, kissing his cheek before walking back into the hut. Leia passes you on her way out, but you don’t say anything, just shoot a meaningful look in your husband’s direction. He needs to tell her now. She needs to hear it.

 

You sit back down as the Ewoks begin chattering excitedly, clearly planning the battle out, but all you can think about is Luke. For the first time, however, you don’t feel alone without him, because this time, you’re really not.

 

_Be safe, Luke._


	7. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

Morning comes and you wake, feeling restless, partly due to worry and partly because you’re not entirely sure which is the best position to sleep in whilst one month pregnant, which would be most comfortable for the baby. In fact, you’re more than ready to start fighting when you wake, if only for the sake of getting a better night’s sleep. You just know that you’ll sleep better once Luke is beside you again.

 

For now, though, you have to concentrate all your energy on helping your friends disabling the Death Star shield and beating the Empire once and for all. Which is why you’re currently crouched on top of a ridge overlooking the shield generator with Leia, Han, Chewie, C3PO, R2D2 and a few of the Ewoks.

 

“If the main entrance to the control bunker’s around the other side of that landing platform, this isn’t going to be easy,” you calculate.

 

“Hey, don’t worry, Chewie and me got into a lot of places more heavily guarded than this,” Han mutters.

 

C3PO is chatting to one of the Ewoks, sounding startled.

 

“What’s he saying?” Leia asks.

 

“He says there’s a secret entrance on the other side of the ridge,” C3PO reports.

 

“What are waiting for? Let’s go,” you say.

 

The others agree and the Ewoks lead your group around the ridge to where the secret entrance is concealed.

 

“Back door, huh?” Han says in response to an Ewok’s chattering. “Good idea. It’s only a few guards, this shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

 

“Well, it only takes one to sound the alarm,” Leia points out.

 

“Then we’ll do it real quiet-like,” Han mutters back.

 

You try to calculate the best possible outcome and the easiest way to not get the guards to sound the alarm, when suddenly C3PO exclaims “Oh, my, Princess Leia!” Leia claps a hand over his mouth and mimes for him to talk quietly. “I’m afraid our furry companion has gone and done something rather rash.”

 

Frowning, you look over and see the Ewok climbing onto one of the speeder bikes. “Oh, no,” Leia groans.

 

“There goes our surprise attack,” Han sighs. The Ewok fires up the speeder bike and yips in excitement as it speeds off into the forest. Three of the Imperial scouts quickly mount their bikes and rush after him, leaving the fourth behind without a bike. Han turns with a grin. “Not bad for a little furball, there’s only one left.” He points to the droids and Wicket, the Ewok that Leia befriended. “Stay here, we’ll take care of this.”

 

“I have decided that we shall stay here,” C3PO tells R2D2 and Wicket.

 

Stealthily you follow Han quietly though the undergrowth to ambush the remaining scout. Han does this by tapping the scout on the shoulder from behind and getting him to follow him into the arms of the strike team. Now the generator is unguarded, you follow your friends inside the bunker and into the main control room, where your group easily outnumbers the team inside. Barely have you even started to set the charges to destroy the generator, however, then a team of Stormtroopers floods the base and ushers your group out again. Your heart sinks as they lead you back out into the open, all the while praying that Luke can turn his father back over to the Light. If that happens, it could be a useful advantage.

 

“Hello!” You look up to see C3PO revealing himself from the undergrowth on the ridge. “I say, over there! Where you looking for me?”

 

You frown, wondering what he’s up to as six of the Stormtroopers leave the group to rush up the ridge. Then, out of nowhere, a whole army of Ewoks springs and begins to attack them. The Stormtroopers are immediately subdued, taken completely by surprise. An Ewok attack call is sounded from high above in the trees and the next thing you know the Ewoks are everywhere, hitting the Stormtroopers with spears, rocks, sticks, anything they can get their little furry paws on. Amidst the confusion, you, Han and Leia sprint back to the now closed bunker door and attempt to open it. Leia shakes her head.

 

“The code’s changed, we need R2!”

 

“Here’s the terminal,” Han replies, handing it to her. You both have your blasters drawn and are shooting the Stormtroopers, taking great care not to hit any of the Ewoks by mistake as Leia tries to get hold of R2D2 through the com-link. Meanwhile, the Imperials have now called on the soldiers in their Walkers to take you down, but the Ewoks have prepared for them, using ropes to try and trip them. It doesn’t work the way they wanted it to, however as the Ewoks get dragged along behind the massive Walker, it does slow the machine down a lot. Other Ewoks use make-shift catapults to pelt boulders at the Walkers, taking most of them down. You see them swinging stones tied to ropes in the direction of the Stormtroopers and giggle when Wicket gets over-zealous and hits himself in the face with his.

 

“We’re coming!” You look up to see C3PO and R2D2 hurrying towards you. “Oh, R2, hurry!”

 

R2D2 quickly plugs into the door lock, but before he can complete the code, a sudden blast nearby sends him shooting back against the opposite wall, all his compartments popping open at once.

 

“Oh, my goodness!” C3PO exclaims. “Why do you have to be so brave?”

 

R2D2 whimpers.

 

“Well, I suppose I could hotwire this thing,” Han mutters.

 

“We’ll cover you,” Leia says.

 

Han gets quickly to work whilst you and Leia keep blasting at the Stormtroopers. “I think I got it,” Han says, only for whatever he’s done to cause the outer door to close. He frowns as you shake your head. Leia suddenly cries out as she’s hit in the arm by a Stormtrooper blast.

 

“Leia!” you shout, quickly blasting the Stormtrooper who did it before turning to her. “Are you alright? How bad is it?”

 

“Not that bad,” Leia groans.

 

“Freeze!” The three of you, and C3PO, instantly do so, hearing a Stormtrooper that’s snuck up on you. “Don’t move!”

 

“Oh, dear,” C3PO murmurs.

 

Out of the Stormtrooper’s view, Leia cocks her gun at the ready. Han grins at her. “I love you.”

 

“I know,” Leia whispers, smugly.

 

“Hands up!” the Stormtrooper orders, and you obey. “Stand up!” Han stands and turns, giving Leia a clear view to shoot the Stormtrooper dead. You grin in relief before noting that one of the Walkers is coming towards your group.

 

“Stay back,” Han tells the pair of you. The Walker’s hatch pops open as it comes to a halt and up from it pops Chewie, roaring in triumph. “Chewie!” Han laughs. “Get down here, Leia’s wounded! No, wait.” He turns to the pair of you. “I got an idea.”

 

Using one of the Imperial com-links, Han gets the crew inside the bunker to open the doors under the guise of a scout requesting reinforcements to drive back the Rebels. Once inside, he and Chewie detonate the charges, finally destroying the shield. You throw yourself (well, not throw, you lie down carefully on the ground to avoid hurting the baby) down beside your friends and look up at the sky, knowing that once it’s down, Lando and his teams will being their attack on the Death Star, and you pray Luke will get out alright.

 

*

 

Aboard the Death Star, Luke hides in the shadows. He’s already lost it with the Emperor and tried to kill him, luckily Darth Vader stopped him otherwise he would be on the path to the Dark Side already. But he knows that he can’t fight his father, he refuses to kill him when he can feel so much conflict within him, despite Vader insisting there is none.

 

“You cannot hide forever, Luke,” Darth Vader intones.

 

“I will not fight you,” Luke insists.

 

“Give yourself to the Dark Side,” Darth Vader taunts. “It is the only way to save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you.” Luke tries hard not to think about you, any of you, but it’s difficult when he’s worried about you all. “Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for...Sister...so, you have a twin sister. Obi-Wan was right to hide her from me. And...Wife.” Luke’s eyes fly open. “With a child on the way...interesting...if you will not be turned, perhaps they will...”

 

 **“No!”** Lightsaber ignited, Luke rushes to strike at his father, their blades clashing repeatedly over and over. He can feel the fury rising in him, the love he feels for you and your unborn child driving him further, fuelling his desire to protect you both from the Dark Side. Darth Vader falls to his knees as Luke continues to rain blows against his lightsaber before finally severing his father’s hand, sending both it and the lightsaber falling down the shaft behind him.

 

The Emperor laughs. “Good! Your hate has made you powerful! Now, fulfil your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!”

 

Luke takes a deep breath, seeing wire protruding from the arm he has just severed. The Emperor’s words sink in as he looks at his own prosthetic hand, realising he’s on the verge of becoming just like his father. And that isn’t the sort of father he wants his child to grow up with.

 

“Never.” Facing the Emperor, he tosses his lightsaber aside. “I’ll never turn to the Dark Side. You’ve failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”

 

The Emperor scowls. “So be it, Jedi.” He moves from the dais his throne is set upon down the steps and approaches Luke. “If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed.” Blue lightning shoots from his hands, knocking Luke off his feet. He can feel every single torment in the world rippling through his body, all the pain that’s ever existed and it’s a struggle to stay upright. “Your feeble skills are no match for the Dark Side. You have paid the price for your lack of vision.” Darth Vader moves to stand beside his Master as Luke cries out in agony.

 

“Father, please, help me!”

 

Darth Vader watches, looking between his Master and his son writhing in pain. He can hear Luke’s thoughts projecting through the Force. _No, have to stay alive....for (Y/N) and the baby...have to get back to her...have to be there..._ Images flash through his mind for Vader to see; imagining how it will feel to be there when his son or daughter is born, the feeling of holding him or her for the first time, watching them grow, teaching them to fight, to use the Force...spending the rest of his life with you and your child, maybe more children someday...

 

The Emperor ceases for a moment and Luke gasps, catching his breath. “And now, young Skywalker...you will die.”

 

The pain intensifies with the next bolt of lightning but this time Darth Vader doesn’t stand and watch his son get tortured. Luke’s feelings for you and his unborn child have awoken his own love for his son, the love he once felt when learning his wife was pregnant and he can’t stand to see him being hurt any longer. With no regard whatsoever for what will happen to him, Anakin Skywalker grabs the Emperor from behind, the Emperor’s lightning now coursing through his own body and away from Luke’s, and hurls him over the edge of the chasm. Luke looks up as the Emperor screams all the way to the bottom of the shaft and Anakin collapses. Luke scrabbles to his feet and pulls him away from the edge, both breathless and stunned by what just happened.

 

With the Death Star now exploding around them, Luke and Anakin make it to an abandoned shuttle, Luke having to drag his weakened father part of the way. He manages to get him into a sitting position and remove his mask at his father’s request.

 

“Now, go, my son,” Anakin whispers, smiling on seeing his son with his own eyes. “Leave me.”

 

“No, you’re coming with me,” Luke insists. “I can’t leave you here. I’ve got to save you.”

 

“You already have, Luke,” Anakin replies, weakly. “You were right about me. Tell your sister...tell your child...you were right...”

 

“Father, I won’t leave you,” Luke says, but Anakin closes his eyes and takes his last breath. Distraught, Luke allows himself to cry for a moment before pulling his father’s body aboard the shuttle and taking off...right before the Death Star blows up completely.

 

*

 

Below, on Endor, the Death Star reveals itself to you as it explodes, and around you the forest erupts in cheers from your strike team and the Ewoks.

 

“They did it!” C3PO cheers.

 

Han looks worriedly at you. “I’m sure Luke wasn’t on that thing when it blew.”

 

“He wasn’t,” Leia says before you can say anything. “I can feel it.”

 

You smile. “I think I can too.” Han looks between the pair of you in complete confusion. You notice his face and frown. Then it sinks in and your eyes widen. “Oh!” You laugh. “No, Han, I think you might have the wrong idea about Luke and Leia.”

 

Han looks at Leia, who has also realised. “Oh, no, it’s not like that at all. He’s my brother.”

 

She kisses him as Han continues to look shell-shocked before it finally sinks in and he grins at her. You smile and lean back against the ridge. “Besides, he can’t be gone, he promised me I wouldn’t have to raise this baby by myself.” You rub your stomach beneath your armour as your friends look at you in awe and grin. “And you say I’m bad at keeping secrets, Leia.” They laugh and suddenly Wicket pops up behind you, cheering in Ewok language, and you all pat him in response. For the first time in your life, everything in the galaxy just feels right.

 

Everyone else makes their way back to the Ewok base to celebrate, but you decide to wait on the ground for Luke, wanting to be the first to welcome him home. Soon, you hear the sound of a shuttle landing and your heart skips a beat as you see him hurrying towards you. You meet him halfway and throw yourself on him, clinging on with arms and legs as he picks you up off your feet and kisses you.

 

“Are you alright?” Luke asks. “How’s the baby?”

 

You smile as he sets you down on your feet. “We’re both fine,” you confirm, before kissing him again. “Are you alright?”

 

Luke nods. “I did it, _(Y/N)._ I knew there was still good in him.”

 

You smile and kiss him again before looking around, thinking Anakin Skywalker will suddenly show himself, without that awful helmet and mask combination he always wears. “Did he come back with you?”

 

Luke nods again, gravely this time. “He sacrificed himself to save me from the Emperor.”

 

“Oh, Luke, I’m so sorry,” you murmur, hugging him. “Would have been nice to have met him without all the screaming and torture.”

 

Luke laughs, softly. “At least I can tell our baby that he was good all along, underneath,” and you silently agree.

 

You go with him to burn the body of his father, not wanting him to have to do it alone. You stand together, hand in hand, watching the flames curl around the black armour and send a plume of grey smoke up into the dim evening sky. Above you, fireworks begin to explode as the galaxy celebrates being at peace at last.

 

Abruptly, Luke crouches down in front of you, one hand on your stomach. “I’ll be the best father I can be to you, I swear. You already have the best mother in the galaxy and I’ll try to be everything you need, I promise. I’ll never let you down.”

 

You smile. “Luke, if it’s being a father you’re worried about, you don’t need to worry.” You cover his hand with yours as he looks at you. “I think this little one loves you already.”

 

Together you walk back to the Ewok base, immediately greeted by Leia and Han. Lando is also present, along with Chewie, C3PO, R2D2, Wedge and many of the other Rebels all dancing and celebrating with the Ewoks. You notice Luke look up at the doorway and you turn, surprised to see three figures standing there, all dressed in Jedi robes. You suss out which is Anakin Skywalker as he looks especially happy at how far his son has come, and he nods at you, as if saying he’s happy his son married you. You smile back, reaching for Luke’s hand, and he turns, beaming, before walking with you back to the celebrations. All over the galaxy, you know this is happening, and you can’t help feeling proud of being part of it.

 

Admiral Ackbar is now standing beside the Ewok shaman’s chair and the music has ceased momentarily for him to speak. “I would just like to say,” he announces, “that this is a great moment for the entire galaxy. We have our new friends the Ewoks to thank for helping us bring peace to each and every planet at last-” C3PO has been translating for the Ewoks and now they all raise their arms in victory and cheer. “-and for that we are all eternally grateful,” Ackbar goes on. “But we have another reason to celebrate, my sources tell me, since recently two of our esteemed friends got married.” He raises a hand in your and Luke’s direction and all eyes turn to the pair of you. “And we all offer our congratulations to the happy couple.”

 

You and Luke exchange a smile. “Actually, we’ve got another reason to celebrate too,” you say, running a hand down the front of your stomach.

 

Lando’s jaw drops and he laughs. “You two really are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Chewie roars a congratulations as R2D2 bleeps in excitement. “That is the most wonderful news, Miss _(Y/N)_ and Master Luke!” C3PO exclaims as the Ewoks cheer again.

 

Luke leans down and kisses you. “I love you, _(Y/N)_ Skywalker.”

 

You smile. “And I love you, Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight.”


	8. Epilogue: Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are a Rebel strategical analyst and Princess Leia’s best friend. Luke is a farm boy turned Jedi from Tattooine and the latest hero of the Rebel Alliance. This is the story of your love over the course of four years.

“Anakin Ben Skywalker, stop teasing your sister,” you call over the chaos that is now dinner time for the newest generation of the Skywalker line. Your seven year old daughter Rena sticks her tongue out at her younger brother, two years younger as it happens, who folds his arms and pouts.

 

“She started it, Mum!”

 

His twin, Jaden, named for your oldest and favourite cousin, is too busy playing holo-chess with R2D2 to care what his siblings are up to. They immediately start bickering until you look up from cooking and say quite calmly “Do I have to get C3PO to start telling you the odds of either one of you winning this argument?” That promptly shuts them up, neither of them wanting to be bored by the golden droid’s calculations.

 

“When’s Dad coming home?” Rena asks, swinging her legs in her seat.

 

“Soon,” you say.

 

“But which soon? The five-minutes soon, or the soon-you’ll-be-grown-up-and-understand-these-things soon?” Rena insists.

 

You shake your head. “When did you learn to be so clever? I really don’t know where you get your sharp wit from.”

 

Jaden jerks his head up, picking up on a new presence in the house. “Dad’s back, I can feel it!”

 

Like a miniature Bantha stampede the three of them race from the room and you smile at R2D2, who beeps curiously at you. “No, R2, I don’t know why we decided to have more than one in the end.” You glance at the doorway, seeing Luke greeting each one of his children lovingly. “But I’m so glad we did.”

 

“Welcome home, Master Luke,” C3PO greets him.

 

“Thanks, 3PO,” Luke replies, stepping into the kitchen slash dining area of your home. You smile as he kisses you in greeting. “How’s everything been here?”

 

“Chaos, the same as usual,” you reply, ushering him to his seat.

 

“Dad, look what I learned to do today,” Rena says, smugly, sliding into the seat beside him and showing him how she’s managed to levitate a piece of fruit out of the bowl on the side table over to the main table using the Force.

 

Luke smiles, proudly, at her. “That’s amazing, Renie, you’re even better than I am.”

 

“I want to levitate fruit,” Anakin pouts, folding his arms.

 

“And me,” Jaden pipes up, not wanting to be left out.

 

“And you will,” Luke assures them, “in time. You know, I didn’t start using the Force until I was nineteen.”

 

“Nineteen?” Anakin grins. “That’s old!”

 

You swat at him, now serving stew into everyone’s plates. “Excuse me, your father and I are still quite young, you know!”

 

Anakin decides to be even cheekier by adding “You don’t look it.”

 

You don’t know whether to laugh or be offended, but thankfully Luke comes to your rescue. “Hey, Ani, your mother’s still as beautiful as she was when I first met her; she hasn’t changed a bit.”

 

“Well, neither have you, my reckless Jedi,” you smile, sliding into your own chair. Luke leans over to kiss you, prompting a volley of “Ew’s!” from your sons and Rena exclaims “Excuse me, we haven’t eaten yet!”

 

“Don’t be cheeky,” you smile.

 

“One day, you three will be doing this when you fall in love,” Luke adds, smiling at them. It’s often hard for either of you to stay mad at your children for very long, not that they’re never naughty, mind, but they’re very easy to love. You couldn’t remember ever being happier than when you were surrounded by your husband and three children, all of whom aspired to be just like Luke one day. Everything you had hoped for growing up; a home, a loving husband, children, had all happened and you couldn’t feel more proud.

 

It had been rumoured, back on Coruscant, that love was written across the stars, pairing up the right people with the right people throughout history and for you and Luke, that was certainly true.

 

The End


End file.
